Each Other's Shoes
by Rae Garnett
Summary: Team Seven is a disaster. A revenge obsessed boy with a superiority complex; a fangirl with a mother who feeds her delusions; a jinchuuriki that seems entirely apathetic to the world; a sensei lost in the past, refusing to make bonds. Kakashi has to make it work, pull them all together despite himself. Can he do it? Or will the team collapse as it seems destined to do?
1. Discarded

**A/N: I do not own Naruto, or any of the recognisable material. None of this is for profit.**

 **Warning: Homelessness, abuse, theft.**

* * *

Five year old Naruto was curled in a bruised and battered ball, blood slowly oozing from cuts and scraps as he sat in his corner of the shared dorm room of the orphanage the night of his birthday. He had hoped that maybe this year would be better than the last and the older children would forget about him today, rejoicing over the death of the Kyuubi with the festival. It was in vain, the beating was worse then those he received on a weekly basis.

All the other children, along with the matron, Sasaki Hiroko, were out for the night to celebrate at the festival with the rest of the village - through the thin walls he could hear the crowd getting rowdy, undoubtedly from all the alcohol they had managed to consume in the hours since it's beginning. Glad to not be outside, instead staying in the minimal safety the orphanage offered, Naruto hugged his arms tighter around his knees.

Whilst Naruto wasn't invited, he also wasn't overly concerned by the obvious disfavour, as he didn't particularly want to attend anyway. Other then that, today always seemed to be when the village was most antagonistic towards him. Although, his treatment had become more a fact of life than anything to be worked up over.

He had managed to fall into a pained, light doze, his injuries from the other children not allowing him true rest. The sound of the door opening downstairs and children's laughter could be heard coming through the floor as the Matron corralled the orphanage residents inside and towards their beds. The door to Naruto's dorm opened and light split the darkness so his three roommates - slightly older kids who liked to pick on him - could enter to go to sleep. Naruto glanced up and his and Sasaki's eyes met through the still open door. He saw hers widen first, then narrow in anger. The slight wobble in her steps proved that she had also indulged in at least some sake during the celebrations.

Quickly she advanced on the young boy and grabbed him roughly around the arm, giving him no choice but to get up and hurry after her - half tripping over in his haste to uncurl and stand - lest she simply drag him across the floor.

"I'm done, had enough. No more in my orphanage there isn't enough money and food to provide for this thing anymore." Naruto heard the matron slur under her breath as they proceeded to the front door.

"I'll have no more demons in my orphanage!" With that final declaration the blond was tossed onto the stoop as the door was shut behind him, the lock making a finalizing click almost reinforcing the fate of the young boy.

Naruto quickly realised that he had to get hidden if he wanted to remain safe - despite his young age he had experienced the attitude of the villagers enough to have learned by this point that if he wanted to avoid their scorn than he had to avoid them altogether. A glance around proved that for the moment the street was fairly clear, and he took the opportunity to duck into an alley next to the building he previously called home.

Stumbling down it as fast as his short and injured body could take him the blond took a few more turns to avoid the villagers, searching for a suitably abandoned spot to hide. Many days of being sent outside on the pretence of playing had given Naruto both reason and opportunity to learn the alleys and side streets of his immediate area.

Eventually coming to a dead end alley with only the back doors to houses in it he crouched in a shadowed corner to conserve warmth and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

* * *

The sun in his eyes and indistinct yelling was what awoke the blonde the next morning, soon accompanied by the rumbling of his stomach.

Small hope had the boy quietly exiting the alley in hope of finding someone who may be kind enough to give him something to eat. A few turns later and Naruto was heading to a street that primarily held food vendors before it branched off further into the shopping district. The few people that were up sneered as he passed, none sparing a glance for his wide eyed hopeful looks for food.

A whole street of sneers, curses, iterations of demon and at least three different tossed objects convinced Naruto that no, he wouldn't be getting any free food this morning. The pattern continued for the next hour getting progressively more hostile and violent until he was chased by one particularly vicious villager and gave up on the venture for the day. Better to stick to areas he knew - he may be five but necessity had already born in him a greater intelligence.

By night he had a further number of bruises - as hard as he tried he couldn't avoid people indefinitely nor their stones, fists and feet - and was hungrier then he could ever remember being. The smell of a small restaurant had not helped matters in the least and he was getting progressively more desperate despite his flagging energy and caution of other people.

Luck was on Naruto's side for one small moment as at this time a worker exited the building to toss the night scraps into the bin. The bag was poorly sealed, though, and some of the soba noodles inside spilt onto the street. Cursing, he quickly grabbed at least the larger bits to drop into the bin before returning to finish the night's clean-up.

That one moment though, the singular glance was enough for Naruto to jump at the new discovery in his desperation and as soon as the alley was again clear he made his way to the bin to see what could be salvaged.

Thus, the blond had found the first steps for his survival on the streets.

* * *

By the end of the month Naruto had begun to get an understanding of the streets. He'd learned the easiest way to avoid people - and their swinging fists - during the day by hiding out wherever he could find near where he wanted to be. He found his preference to be up in the high branches of Konoha's many trees.

The best time to go searching through dumpsters being an hour after closing time of the different restaurants and street vendors. Naruto would spend the rest of the night wandering and memorising the many streets of the village, there were fewer people around at such hours and he could freely travel. When morning came the blond would climb a tree, observe his surrounding to ensure his safety before falling asleep. With this quickly developing routine the blond was living on a nocturnal clock.

It was mid November, when the boy was observing the morning crowd from his perch. His blue gaze caught on an older boy whose appearance was near as scruffy as his own was. Curious, he watched the brunette as he repeatedly bumped into people, ignoring the looks and sneers that were directed his way. Now truly intrigued - why would someone subject themselves to such looks when they were fairly easy to avoid? - he slipped from his tree and darted into the alley he'd seen the other enter.

A glance behind showed that he thankfully hadn't been followed as he himself trailed after the other boy. Once in a much more secluded area he watched as the boy pulled wallets, pouches and purses from all of his pockets and begin to pull out anything of value.

"A-ano, where did y-you get those?" Naruto spoke up nervously, his curiosity overriding his caution. A derisive sneer and a shake of the head was the immediate response to the soft enquiry. "Stole 'em, where the fuck else would 'ah get 'em?" His voice was as rough as he looked and conveyed in it all the condescension he felt towards to blonde's naivete.

Bolstered from getting an answer from the other - no matter the manner it was delivered - Naruto tried for another question. "Who from? And how?" Awaiting the answer he shuffled closer to better see what was being done with the pilfered items.

Semi-annoyed and semi-curious at the interruption the other kid glanced from what he was doing to see the other before answering the question. "Well y'see, from them ou' there on the street. An' ah' filched 'em. Grabbed the money right outta their pockets." A proud smirk had made its way onto the boy's face as he spoke of his achievement.

Now getting rather excited about the idea of having money - and thus easier access to food - the whiskered boy forgot his nerves and practically bounced over to the older child. "Will you teach me?" Moral or not Naruto no longer cared, he got nothing from them but their hate and unwillingly given scraps, he needed to survive more than they needed their money. He'd also been chased off or beaten for rooting around in bins, although he didn't understand why it made them so angry - they don't want what's in it.

"An' why should 'ah do tha'? What's in it for me?" At this question Naruto tilted his head in thought, already aware that he would never get something for nothing the question didn't really surprise him. What had surprised him was that the boy had actually agreed. "Um, you could have some of what I get?" The next part was practically mumbled into his shoes but the brunette still caught what was said. "They never sell to me anyway, just try beat me again and chase me off." At this point the blond had shrunk into himself as if in preparation for the remembered blows to strike him again.

"Maki Takumi, an' you 'ave yourself a deal." The brunette held his hand out for a shake, soon met with a smaller hand and a wide grin.

"Uzumaki Naruto"

* * *

Learning from Takumi was rough for the young boy but Naruto was looking forward to when he could implement the skills he was being taught. Naruto still spent most of his hours awake at night or hidden in trees - as he wanted to avoid the villagers as much as he could before that was no longer possible - but there was now more focus to his actions. "Know your escape routes," Takumi had said, "an' be fast enough to use 'em."

Naruto took this to heart so he ran. He begun to learn the side streets and back alleys of the village, where there was a fence he could hop or a corner he could dart around to lose anyone who might catch him. He would be caught, Takumi had assured him of that. "You won' be good to begin with, people will catch you 'til you get more experience." Running as much as he could increased his speed and stamina for easier escapes. It also meant he could check more bins before what food was in them went bad or got eaten by some animal first.

The two of them would split what was found before Takumi went to sleep and Naruto would continue his exploration. By sunrise, Naruto would return to where his companion had slept, where he would have to practice trying to pickpocket the other. The skill saw steady improvement as every time he was caught his hand would receive a sharp slap - the pain drilled into him the best method fastest. When the village woke up some more they'd choose an area of the village distant from where they were yesterday, Naruto would climb a tree and the brunette would join the crowd.

At nightfall they'd seclude themselves back in an alley nearer some restaurants, where they'd sort the wallets and discuss where they might hit tomorrow. When the village around them started closing down Naruto would split off and begin running in his search of thrown food, bringing it back to share.

While he did that Takumi would go store the money in one of several boxes he'd placed around the village, bringing back some food also. All the money the pair could spare to save was, and on mornings where they were still hungry Naruto was taught how to filch dumplings and such from vendors first by observation then putting it into practice - as oppose to buying something.

A month passed in this fashion but as the slightly cooler weather of winter came the threadbare clothes they both wore were no longer sufficient. The blond was often shivering by the time Takumi woke despite having taken to run further and harder in order to try keep warm, ignoring the exhaustion he was left with afterwards. It was this that prompted a sigh from the brunette as he watched the sun try pierce the for once cloudy morning.

"Looks like we're gonna 'ave to grab us some clothes. Should be interesting, 'aven't done this in a while." A grin split his face as he begun their morning trek to the new area, gesturing the five year old along behind him. Naruto followed like an obedient puppy, waiting to see what else he was to learn from the other boy.

"Now, y'see, 'ah don't like paying for anything 'ah can just as easily steal. Same for these clothes we need so come night, 'ah'm gonna show you how to break into one of these shops 'ere. As always, the important thing is to not get caught and get away if you do." They'd each had enough food last night so to pass the morning until there was enough of a crowd Takumi improved on what few reading skills Naruto had. By pointing out signs on shops they passed he picked up a few of the characters, it wasn't perfect but it was a start and there was little else they could do when the brunette knew little more than that himself.

That day it was only exhaustion from his running through the night that got the blond to sleep, and when night came he was near bouncing with excitement under the streetlights as he was told what they were going to do.

"So, we 'ave a few different ways to break in depending on the place, an' until we pick one later tonight we don't know which will be best. So, ah'm gonna tell you all of 'em.

"First, roof. Many buildings 'ere 'ave a roof entrance for easy access for all these ninja you see jumping around. Usually, they have a padlock on 'em somewhere and we'd 'ave to either pick or break that lock.

"Second, windows. These are locked on the inside and with this, we may be able to move the latch an' unlock it with this." At this point Takumi unsheathed a small knife Naruto knew he always kept strapped to his forearm beneath his long sleeves. Naruto was also nodding along with rapt attention as he memorised and tried to think about the difficulty of each method he'd been told so far. "Although that can be a bit fiddly.

"Third, front or back door. Both are gonna be locked, an' we gotta be careful to make sure the one we pick is only a key lock we can pick. If it has a deadbolt or some other method such as a latch the difficulty increases. You got all tha'?" Naruto nodded in confirmation as he thought over what he had learned and what that might mean for their self appointed mission.

"Right, then 'elp me sor' this, then we'll have a look for a place and practice your pickpocket skills - 'ah reckon you're jus' about ready - before you do your food run." Sorting the money was a quick job, stashing any other valuables they found before dumping the wallets in a bin as they passed on their way to a civilian shopping area nearby.

"Shinobi are paranoid bastards, especially if they lived long enough to retire and start a shop, so we're gonna stick with civilian stuff. Breaking into a shinobi place is a one way ticket to the Uchiha's prison - stuck up assholes. What place do you reckon of these ones 'ere?" Takumi suddenly changed conversation and he stopped in a street behind a few stores, asking Naruto's opinion for how to proceed.

The whiskered boy jogged to the front of the shops from the side street he was in, while knowing they'd have to break in from the back to be safe he needed to know which shops might have what they were after. He found after some window shopping that the fifth, sixth and eighth stores had what might be acceptable so it became a matter of which would be the easiest to get into. Running back round to his companion and teacher he told him of what he had seen before looking at the back of them.

The fifth store didn't have any windows that were large enough for even Naruto, small as he was, to squeeze through. Both the sixth and eighth did so they would have to wait until later when they were actually breaking in to determine which would be easier. Since that was concluded the pair walked off a couple of blocks, Naruto all the while trying to nick some of the money from his friend as they walked, with marginal success. A couple hours passed in that vein before they agreed to meet where they were before they split for food and money stash respectively.

They met back together when it was just around ten-thirty and dug into their pilfered meal. The hour after that while they awaited midnight was spent talking between them, and Naruto practised walking on his hands in an attempt to keep active and stave off the encroaching chill.

When midnight came the boys gathered the containers that was left and dropped them in the bin before heading towards their chosen store, sticking to the shadows to avoid attention. Reaching the block they walked to the sixth store-back and Takumi studied the window while Naruto kept lookout in case someone came.

"'Ah think this window latch can be jiggled open, you wanna have a shot? 'Ah already know how to do it an' you gotta learn." Naruto nodded an affirmative before coming closer and hoisting himself up to sit on the sill studying the lock and accepting the knife. Takumi took over his role of lookout. Sliding the thin blade between the side of the window and its holding he carefully tried to angle it around to catch the top of the latch. Some careful manoeuvring and five minutes later he had succeeded, pushing the window open a crack.

"I got it." The blond whispered softly handing the knife back and adjusting into a crouch so he could drop in once he pushed the window open all the way. Doing so as silently as he could - surprisingly quietly, after all the trees he dropped out of - with Takumi following after, they quickly shut the window to hide and avoid notice.

Creeping to the back of the store from the office the pair found themselves in, they browsed as much as they could for some appropriate clothing. Naruto eventually settled on some thick black pants that were a bit too long - rolling them up was good enough and he knew he'd grow into them some. Besides being cold his old clothes were getting too small anyway. Additionally he took a forest green shirt with long sleeves and a hood to hide his blond hair under. He didn't own shoes, and decided that he'd continue to forgo them for the added climbing ability bare feet granted him.

When Takumi had chosen his own outfit - long pants, beige shirt but with a brown jacket over-top, a basic pair of runners - the two of them changed, rolled up their old clothes in preparation of binning them and slipped back to the office and the opened window.

Climbing up onto the sill again in preparation to drop down Naruto glanced around the street. He froze, eyes meeting those of a drunk stumbling around at the mouth of the alley, and watched with growing dread as recognition appeared to light in the man's eyes.

"Kuso" He whispered, although the word bordered on a snarl. "We've been spotted, a drunk to the right." He informed his friend, dropping from the window and preparing to bolt. By that point the drunk was already staggering towards them, and Naruto could clearly see the hate and disdain the man held him in, slurring that he was a demon and he'd kill him to rid the village of the 'beast.'

Naruto bolted. Knowing his friend would be right behind him he ran, through the twisting alleys he'd spent months memorising, over short fences, parks, trees, streets and more streets. At some point the whiskered boy glanced to the side to see Takumi keeping up, and adrenaline mixed with the realisation of what they'd done. Giddiness built in his chest, along with mild hysteria and a wide grin formed on his face. When the grin was matched by the brunette, the blond broke and began laughing, soon joined by the other boy's voice in the cold night air.

Their laughter built up till they had to stop to prevent falling over as a result of their hysterics. It took a good five minutes for the pair to calm down, and they laid flopped on the ground recovering from their dead sprint across the village. Eventually though their joy subsided and Naruto's thoughts returned to that of the man they'd encountered. The man's attitude towards him was fairly standard but it had been months since Naruto had truly interacted with people and paid them any attention.

With this event the question came back full force, why was he hated so much? What did he do, could he have done to deserve the name demon? To be thrown out of the orphanage, kicked and beaten and tossed out of stores.

The blonds mood quickly plummeted with his thoughts and his eyes dulled from their previous glee. Takumi rolled onto his side to see why his friend had gone quiet and saw the state he was in. "Ne, wha's wrong with you? 'Ah ain't seen you in such a mood for weeks." Naruto shrugged at the question and turned his gaze to the only friend he'd ever had. Hope came to him, maybe his friend would know? The others in the orphanage his age had known. At the same time though, fear joined with his tumultuous emotions. What if he did know? What if he didn't? Naruto was unsure which of the options he preferred.

A nudge to his ribs once more brought him from his troubled thoughts and he refocused on Takumi's face. A brunette eyebrow quirked up in silent prompt. Naruto sighed heavily and looked away so he wouldn't have to see the answer to his question before he spoke - wanting to know but not at the same time.

"Why do they hate me, Takumi-kun? I've never done anything to them." His voice trailed off at the end as he fell back into his thought and the silence stretched between them. Takumi watched his young companion as he thought of what to say. He knew, like most others of his age remembered, but wasn't sure if he wanted to take the risk of breaking the Sandaime's law. Another look at the blue eyes of the other, he thought of the situation and came to a decision.

A life on the streets is not a good one for anyone, let alone a five year old child, and he deserved to know the reason for his suffering. Taking a deep breath he sat, and Naruto heard the shift of his clothes as he did so, keeping his gaze fixed on the stars.

"'Ah know why, and it's illegal to speak of by the Sandaime's rule. 'Ah personally think that if anyone deserves to know it's you, so 'ah'm gonna tell you. Do you know the story of the Kyuubi?" At this Naruto's eyes met brown and he nodded uncertainly, he knew the story, remembered being sneered at through the telling every time. The hesitation was because of that attitude he always received, and the connotations that the story now had due to the hatred.

"It's wrong." The statement was blunt coming from Takumi and the force of it jolted Naruto from his remembrance.

"So, the Kyuubi attacked, y'see, and the Yondaime Hokage fought to defeat it to protect the village, as did many others. What they don' tell you anymore is tha' you can't kill a bijuu. The creatures are masses of pure chakra - 'ah'm not clear on what tha' is, but everything apparently 'as it. Ninja thing too, supposedly. The point is, they can't be killed. The only way to stop the fox was to seal it, at the cost of his own life. Do you know what sealing is?" Naruto at this point was full of nerves and trepidation but shook his head no.

Takumi grimaced at the response but continued. "Sealing is another ninja thing. 'Ah don't remember exactly but the general idea was you seal something into another. Ano... like water in a cup, only this is anything in a scroll with some fancy lines. You follow?" Naruto nodded, not quite sure but figured it'd make more sense later.

"So the Yondaime sealed the fox, only no scroll could hold tha' much chakra, no object would ever be capable. Instead, the Yondaime took a newborn and put the Kyuubi in him. Naruto, you're the cup in this, and the Kyuubi is the water." Naruto's eyes were wide with fear at this, his mind not keeping up with the information and emotional shock. Stuck somewhere between denial of what he was told and remembering every time he'd been called demon. He curled in on himself and unknowingly begun muttering 'no no no's' and 'demon, they're right I'm a demon.'

The brunette shook his head and tugged the boy over to him. "You're not the Kyuubi 'ah told you that. All the villagers are wrong for what they do to you, but they're blinded by grief and are using you as a scapegoat."

"Scapegoat?" Naruto repeated, reassured by the brunette's words. "Scapegoat. Ano, they want someone to blame for their pain. They blame you, because they don't know about seals and, as 'ah said, want someone to blame. Y'see?" He asked watching Naruto nod, he knew the boy didn't entirely understand but that'd come with time.

Takumi ruffled Naruto's blond locks before standing, pulling the other boy with him. "What do you say we find a tree to sleep? In the morning 'ah'll let you try your hand at pick-pocketing , an' if you don't get caught by the end of the day you can do so by yourself everyday after?" Naruto nodded in agreement and the two went to find a suitable place to sleep.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review - you guy are gonna be my motivation to continue. I'll update weekly with what I've written so far, then it'll be an 'as I produce' basis. Constructive** **criticism** **will be appreciated.**


	2. Casualty

**A/N: I do not own Naruto, or any of the recognisable material. None of this is for profit.**

 **Warning: Homelessness, abuse, theft, death, torture.**

* * *

Naruto had turned out to be a quick study in pick-pocketing once he really got started, quietly ducking through the crowd filching wallets. His short stature made it easy to be unobserved and while the hood did attract some attention the boy had an innate ability for stealth. A necessity to avoid the heated glares of the villagers.

It was a couple of months after the clothing incident that Takumi approached Naruto with the reason they had been saving so much of their money. In their time together the boys had gotten very close - relying on each other proved to rapidly build a strong, brother-like bond between them.

"Ruto-kun," he began, smiling as he helped split what food they'd gathered between them. "Ah've got some good news for you." Naruto's head tilted in curiosity at the statement as he waited for the other to continue. Takumi had gotten used to Naruto's silent nature, electing only to speak when there was no other way to convey what he wanted to express. It was another adaptation from the life he lived - the more attention he drew to himself the more likely he was to get beaten. While the incidents were few and far between they were still unpleasant enough to have learnt the best way to prevent them.

"'Ah should 'ave enough money stashed around the village tha' we could rent a one room apartment. Between us we grab enough to afford a cheap one so long as we buy nothin' else. 'Ah mean still pickpocketing an' stealing clothes and shit but showers, Ruto. Warm showers." Naruto grinned in response, blue eyes lighting up. Since he'd been kicked out of the orphanage all he'd had were swims in one of the many training ground lakes and even prior, Sasaki-san had made him go last when there was never any hot water left.

"Where do we start, Taku-nii? And, ano, I don't think I should be with you, they might hike up prices or flat out deny you..." Naruto stated worriedly.

"Unfortunately, Otouto(little brother), you're right. Ah'll have a look at some places tomorrow and show you the good ones at night, an' 'ah suppose you just keep doing what you do best, ne?" Naruto nodded in agreement to that and the two returned to their meals of slightly squashed onigiri and leftover yakitori. Another head tilt of Naruto's was met with a raised eyebrow, and the whisked boy sighed as he realised this was another thing he'd have to vocalise.

"Are you gonna get a job or apprenticeship, Aniki? You could get more money that way, more certainly than we have now." Takumi nodded along with the idea, contemplating who would hire a kid. "'Ah could be a runner for one of the tradesman. Run at least the orders of wha' they want. Easy enough." Naruto again nodded in agreement before the pair finished what passed as dinner, then went to a nearby tree they often used for sleep.

The next morning the two slipped through the edges of the crowd towards the Yoyogi district - an area at the edges of where the Kyuubi hit - with many buildings remaining in a state of disrepair. It was cheap and that was what they were after. Passing by a vendor who'd started early that morning they each snuck a steamed dumpling off his stock without notice, a well honed skill for the pair.

Halfway there Naruto nodded to the brunette with a slight wave, tugging his hood further over his face as he merged with the foot traffic. The young boy didn't spare his self proclaimed brother a glance as he scanned the crowd for the best marks. His eyes darted over the people headed his way and the sight of a man in some bright clothes of a higher quality made the blond grin. As he headed towards him with his head down he turned as he passed, aiming towards a side street that'd lead to another row of shops. His body blocked the fast action from sight as he walked around and behind the target, hands so light that the distracted man didn't even notice as he lifted the wallet from his pocket.

Transferring the item to one of his own Naruto stuffed his hands into his pant pockets as he headed down the adjacent street, blue eyes already darting around for the next mark. The day continued in a similar vein, darting behind a dango stand the blond thieved a couple sticks for a quick lunch. Meandering through the crowd his perusal of other possible targets resumed.

By the end of the day when he met up with his brother, Naruto had alone collected around 200 000ryo ($200AUD) which he considered an extremely successful day. After their nightly stashing of the collected money and search for food the pair went to each of the four buildings Takumi deemed acceptable for them to rent. He'd checked with the agent that they had hot water and electricity in each, and a working toilet. At this point it was a matter of determining which would be best.

Arriving at the first one the brunette led the way to the window he'd left unlocked for just this purpose, pushing gently until it was open enough for the two to slip inside. The interior was bare - free of any tables, fridge, microwave or any other furniture. It had a single room, small kitchen with adjoining living room and small bathroom with shower and toilet. A short tour and the boys slipped out again.

A fast run through the alleys and they came to the second building, an apartment block with paint peeling and other areas that had seen better days. The one on offer was on the second story and was much like the first place they'd viewed. The main difference was the neighbours and a lumpy couch left from the previous tenant.

Another sprint and soon they were climbing a large oak tree, jumping to a window sill and entering the third window of the night. Fourth story with a roof access down the corridor from the front door, this particular option was fairly small. While still in a more run down area the building was in the best condition of those in the block. It came with a microwave at least, working kitchen, hardly enough room to call it a living room, bedroom and small bathroom.

Their fourth stop of the night had the pair appraising a ground floor apartment, this one had a bed - stained though it was - and couch that was also stained, and smelled of sake. A quiet discussion had the pair deciding on the third option, the tree access making it easier for Naruto to avoid other tenants and their disdain. The microwave would also be a bonus as it meant they could heat up some of their food, as opposed to it's normally cold state.

Decision made the two climbed a tree a couple blocks away to sleep for tomorrow.

It took a week before Takumi was able to find a job as a runner for a man named Koizumi - taking information to the merchant's customers on their stock and prices, bringing back the orders so they could be delivered. It wasn't glamorous but it was enough on paper for the agent to accept that the boy would be able to keep up with the rent for the apartment. Three days after that the two could be found curling up together on the bedroom floor, content in the safety of a locked door and each other.

Life passed quickly after that, in the span of a few weeks the pair broke into a couple more civilian shops for more sets of clothes - Takumi needed to appear at least half respectable to his employers clients, and they grabbed some for Naruto while they were there. One thing they hadn't done before but decided to do was to grab a few books from a second hand store. Takumi wasn't the best reader himself but he was determined to make sure that Naruto could read, especially now that they had a secure place to keep such things.

The brunette's boss was an ass, paying only 15 000ryo/run($15AUD) but if he was fast he could maybe get 17 runs in a day, carefully planning the fastest routes through long memorised shortcuts. Naruto continued to wander the crowds and between them they easily managed to collect enough for the 300 000ryo/week($300AUD) rent and saving the extra. The boys continued to steal food from bins to save as much as they could in case they had some desperate need of it.

Naruto kept up his runs too, doing so at any opportunity he could in order to maintain and even improve his speed. Both their reading abilities improved with practice, and they grabbed some higher level books one night. For that they picked the lock to a bookstore's back exit - a skill practised on their own door with senbon they found until they got it down to a short enough time. They took history books mostly, curious as they were to the achievements of the faces carved from the stone cliff.

Weeks turned to months and the brothers relaxed into their new lives. While still difficult there was less strain on them, Naruto was assaulted by the villagers less often and they were getting healthier from the less taxing lifestyle.

* * *

It went wrong on the 10th of October. Naruto had gone off again to grab the usual evening meal, sure in his skill by now to avoid the crowd and get back to his brother without issue. Takumi had remained in their home to count how much money they'd manage to save over the year, contemplating if they'd have enough by the new year to put his Otouto through school.

Naruto was correct, he managed his food run with no real difficulty. A couple more drunks around than usual but the back of a lesser known restaurant, more out of the way then he usually bothered made them a non issue. The problems came when, as he arrived home through the window, he didn't see the man in the dark with a bat before it was slammed over his head and he was dragged into the room.

Disoriented, blue eyes darted around the room searching for his brother. "Aniki!" he called desperately when he saw him on the ground with blood running from his temple. Glazed brown eyes searched for his before all Naruto could see was white spots dancing across his vision. "Shut up, demon. You don't have family, just like you fucking took mine you murderer." Naruto could hear the snarl in the man's voice despite the ringing in his ears before all he could focus on was a pain in his ribs.

Two of the men hauled him off the floor to face Takumi as another lifted the brunette. "You took away my family," he spat at the blond. "I'm gonna take away yours. 'Sides, the kid is already good as dead, damn demon probably waiting for the right time to kill the poor fucker." With that declaration he took the kunai the whiskered boy had missed seeing, slammed it through Takumi's shoulder and lodged it into the wall.

The brunette screamed.

Naruto struggled to get free from his own captor, thrashing around and lashing out ineffectively with his fists and feet. He wanted them to let go, to go help his brother but one of the blades was shoved into his thigh, and a scream escaped his own lips. "Does that hurt demon? Scream fucker, I wanna know I hurt you as much as you did me before I kill you, you and your pet." The man spat the last word before laughing boisterously, like he was privy to some great joke. The others holding him chuckled too, and Naruto decided that he would not give them that.

At the moment anything he could do to take away their satisfaction was a win, hope sprung that maybe if they got bored of him they would drop it and leave he and his brother alone. The thought was the only thing that could keep him from screaming again as the kunai was ripped from his leg.

It was for naught. Naruto was stuck watching in frozen horror from the arms his captors as they pinned his brother's other shoulder to the wall. From there they sliced open his stomach, his screaming from the pain near deafening until they drove the kunai through his vocal chords, windpipe and throat. The wound resulted in instant silence, and blissful death shortly thereafter. It was the only mercy they showed that night.

Their treatment for Naruto was worse. He was stabbed in the other leg, then both again before each arm was given similar treatment. He was leaned against the wall opposite his brother as they continued this treatment, his hands nailed to the wall with more kunai as though to crucify him on it. After that the men begun carving lines on his body. Down from his collarbones to his pelvis, inch deep furrows dripping crimson. The searing cuts carefully went around the now visible seal like a sick red parody of body paint, but through it the only thing Naruto could focus on was his brothers glazed eyes.

The world had faded from around him, adrenaline and shock numbing him to the pain of what was happening as he stared at his brother's corpse. Eventually a kunai was driven into his own throat and pulled out. Blood gushing from the wound, Naruto heard the last parting remark, "Demon should fucking die now, good riddance to the thing." Before the world faded all together.

* * *

Naruto awoke the next morning to find Takumi's glazed eyes still open and that it hadn't been some horrible birthday nightmare. A burning in his throat seconded the notion and the more aware he became the greater amounts of pain seemed to course through his system. His legs and arms ached, his chest stung and his hands burned. Worst of all though was the fire that seemed to be his neck, every breath seemed to tear it more and his eyes watered as he tried to contain the whimper that wanted to escape. He knew that'd be the worst thing he could do.

Gathering his strength the blond held his breath before pushing his way into a sitting position, the kunai apparently having been removed from his hands. He was in shock, couldn't process his first friend, the boy he considered a brother was gone. He could figure it out later, now wasn't the time to fall apart. First he needed to leave - find a safe place to hide for the day and assess what he had. He knew from his last birthday that the numbness would wear off and he'd be slapped like a ton of bricks by what happened. Until then, he had to take advantage.

Pushing himself off the floor he surveyed to room, looking to where they kept the spare money - gone. Okay. Naruto then glanced around at the books they'd gathered but knew immediately that they were not of enough value for him to take with him. If he wanted to read he'd have to go to the library or get more - he'd basically memorised their collection by this point anyway.

Stumbling to the bedroom he saw their piles of clothes were there. Another good thing - he could wrap them in a bag and shove them in one of the old stash's Takumi had kept, maybe under a tree. A spare change of clothes couldn't hurt. An itchiness on his arms brought attention to the fact he was covered in his own blood and he staggered to the shower.

Enjoying the water without a shit to give about what the landlord would think for the bill Naruto tried to keep focused, squeezing his own eyes shut against the image of his brothers glazed ones. Trying to block out the phantom screams as he tried desperately to get away to help. A choked sob tore from his throat, tore _at_ his throat and the re-ignition of the burning pain forced him back into the present.

The water by now had washed off the blood and Naruto examined of what had been life threatening injuries mere hours ago. Cuts down his chest were angry red lines, the stabs in both arms and legs bled sluggishly as they tried to finish closing up. Getting out and looking in the mirror showed his throat had a thick inch long scar at the base of it. Naruto didn't know why it'd healed and scarred when the others hadn't but he didn't find it relevant to his current situation.

Gingerly pulling on one of his three sets of clean clothes he shoved the other two into bags of relative cleanliness they had around from dinners previous. When he knew he had everything he could hope to take he looked at his brother for the first time since he left the room. Walking over he pulled each kunai out and laid them aside. He then lowered Takumi down to the floor and closed his eyes. Next, he removed the knife the other still had strapped to his right forearm and strapped it to his own. The kunai were wiped on his bloody shirt before being carefully placed in his pants pocket and the shirt left.

The last thing Naruto did before leaving the room was leave a note, written on the wall in the only pencil they owed. 'Maki Takumi. Rest well, Aniki. I love you." He knew he would not be able to bury him himself, nor arrange for a burial. His only hope was they would at least leave a marked grave with the name he provided for him to visit.

Slowly scaling down the tree Naruto got to the ground before moving into the shadow of the building. He carefully moved along the edge of the street he was on before turning down an alley, pulling his hood up and straining his ears to avoid being seen or recognised. Safely a few blocks away Naruto found a tree he knew had a niche beneath the roots he could store his clothes. Once done, he again entered the alley, heading towards where he knew a quieter, almost abandoned suburb of the village was.

Upon arrival he climbed a fairly tall tree, wedged himself into one of the topmost branches almost completely out of site from the ground and forced himself into sleep.

When he next woke it was night and the adrenaline and numbness that had kept him going had vanished, Naruto clamped his will over the whine building in his throat. Despite that silent tears still leaked from his eyes and his whole body began to shake until he had to grab the branch he was on as it shook with him. By the time the blond stopped it was well past midnight and Naruto forced himself to move, instincts and habits telling him he needed food and to change location.

Despite this he was listless as he walked towards the other end of the village, paying enough attention to avoid people but none to where he really was nor for the food he usually had a keen eye for. By dawn, Naruto was nearing where he knew the clans were, and with sunlight came a mix of routine and instinct and he was up the nearest suitable tree in minutes. His sleep that day lasted till the sun went down again and healed the last of his injuries, leaving only a scar on his throat.

When he woke again Naruto was a bit more aware, and the complaining of his stomach set his mind to his first course of action - finding food. His recent experience kept him from the main streets where he would have previously just acquired the first thing easy to steal. Instead he opted to wander around till he found a restaurant, not really caring how long it took since it'd be a couple of hours until rubbish out anyway.

Hood up he found himself at the back of Aki no Shokuji, a higher end restaurant, come ten o'clock and hid in the deep shadows the alley afforded as he watched the door. It opened and a generously proportioned man exited and tossed a bag in the bin. Naruto was too fixated on what he hoped was his next meal and didn't see the man cast a look at where he was hidden.

After the closing of the door Naruto waited five minutes before beginning his search for something edible. A container of soba noodles and some onigiri was his findings, so the whiskered boy took what he found and left. Eating the food quickly Naruto rapidly climbed a nearby tree, not in the mood to do anything but stare blankly at the stars. He drifted off to sleep in that same position.

He woke with a startled gasp, breath rasping from his throat as he called again for his Aniki, trying to save him from a fate already dealt. Only, nothing more then air escape his lips. Trying again, Naruto attempted to say something. Aniki, ohayo, Naruto, Takumi, Uzumaki, Konoha, Aniki and anything else that cycled through his head in his desperation. No sound came out, just more panicked puffs of air into the October afternoon.

Two hours of sitting in shock and fruitless trying and Naruto gave up, he could not speak. A sigh of resignation slipped past his lips as he realised and accepted his newest handicap. Life hadn't been fair yet to Naruto, and he'd learnt to roll with the punches. Without his Aniki it was going to be much harder but Naruto forced the morose thoughts aside. He'd survived this long and he'd keep going - for his brother.

The pair had discussed death a few times between them. Both being orphans they knew of the concept and chances of it with their lives, so often when they'd ruminate on the 'had been's and 'could've been's of parents their conversations drifted into the morbid topic.

Watching the sunset from his perch Naruto remembered the end of one such conversation. "Naruto," Takumi had began. "'Ah know we're both safe as we are now, relatively, but my parents died in a house fire 2 years back and 'ah know sometimes things just... happen. 'Ah want you to promise me now that if something... happens, then don't give up. You're strong, an' you can become anything you want despite this village and its attitude. In spite of it, even. So promise me, 'ah don't care what you do - what career you choose - but whatever it is, keep going if 'ah die and go far, succeed." Naruto had made Takumi promise the same thing, and he drew on this memory now to keep going after the last few days.

He was going to become a ninja, Naruto decided. If the village was determined to beat him down he would have to be strong enough to dish it back. For himself he would be satisfied to go no further then Chunin and a comfortable life but for Takumi, he would be the best. He would succeed and go far.

Noticing that a it was nearing ten since he'd been lost in thought Naruto stuck to the shadows on his way back to where he'd gotten food yesterday. Waiting again he watched as the same man came out with the rubbish and after he left to go inside the whiskered boy again pilfered from the bag his meal. After finishing Naruto concluded that if he was going to be a ninja he had to be as fit and fast as possible. Beginning his recently neglected exercise Naruto begun running down the streets and alleys, taking sharp turns and trying to push himself as fast as he could. He leapt over small fences and flipped down stairs, enjoying the wind in his hair and the reminder of his Aniki and the good times the activity evoked. By dawn the newly turned six year old was exhausted and thus asleep as soon as he was comfortable in a suitable tree.

Upon waking in the afternoon the boy had a serious think about how he would achieve his newest goal. The first conclusion he made was that ninja or not, he would need a way to communicate. Thinking of what little he knew, Naruto realised he would have to learn sign language. Other then that he knew nothing about the requirements for his chosen profession.

A breath whispered through his lips dejectedly in a silent sigh, with nobody to teach him he'd have to rely on books and what reading skills he'd learned. A shrug of his shoulders and the blond dropped to the ground from his tree, searching for a suitable store to get what he was after.

Two hours later and Naruto was jimmying open the lock to the back door of a civilian store with his pair of senbon. When the door clicked open Naruto slipped into the shadows of the building a shut the door behind him, wandering through the organised chaos of the aisles.

Barely ten minutes passed before he exited the store, a small book in his left pocket and lock re-engaged. The copy he had found was simply 'Elemental Sign' and was essentially a short guide on method of use before it listed the words and their sign, much like a dictionary. Elemental Sign was the common language throughout the nations. After his nightly routine of a run, food - again from the Aki no Shokuji bins - and another run Naruto went to sleep earlier than usual in hopes of reading the book the next afternoon.

Waking at lunch Naruto dropped from his tree - barely a rustle or crunch of leaves sounding his movements anymore - and headed towards a nearby merchant street to hopefully grab some lunch. Knowing he'd eventually need money to try renting again he also snuck from the area with a couple more wallets from some unfortunate passers by.

Now fed, Naruto cracked open his book and begun to read, only stopping when the sun set and he could no longer see well enough to continue. It was a fairly basic text and anything more advanced then he understood the blond did his best to infer the meaning from examples given. At this time, he begun his run before eventually ending up in the same place he'd gone the previous nights waiting for closing.

Naruto was aware that it was risky to always be at the same place, making him easy to find but this particular restaurant had particularly good food and more of it than anywhere else and he figured he could leave to somewhere else if it became a true issue. Again, Naruto missed the look cast in his direction as the portly man threw their scraps.

After his meal Naruto went and found a tree to sleep in. He woke late the next morning and got to practising, setting what would be his routine for the next month. Wake, learn ESL(Elemental Sign Language), lunch and pick-pocketing, stash what he'd collected at sundown, across village sprints until he went back to the back of Aki no Shokuji to pilfer his dinner.

This routine was broken early November when the man who always tossed the rubbish also dropped a smaller bag into the bin. While not particularly interesting in itself Naruto opened the bag to find a warm container of chicken and soba noodles and dressing, the most complete meal he'd had in a long time. Slightly suspicious but trusting enough in the fact he could heal from a stabbed throat to take care of any poisons, the whiskered boy ate. That same night Naruto also went to see for the first time if his Aniki had been given a grave.

Naruto arrived at the cemetery to find his hopes answered, and spent near two hours telling his brother of his career decision and all other things that'd happened both mentally and attempting to sign. The language was slow going but the whiskered child was gradually getting the hang of it. He visited at least once every month after that.

So passed the next two years. The Akimichi restaurant became his haunt for food, he learned to sign, pick-pocketed more and saved his money. Many attempts saw him trying to get an apartment but was always sent off with a sneer at best, a beating and broken bones at worst - there's nowhere to run when inside so he had unfortunately been caught. He regularly went to the library at night, borrowing books and scrolls on shinobi and the Elemental Nations - borrowing in only the sense that he intended to return the items, even if they didn't know he took them. Naruto went running nightly to best prepare himself physically, as well as walking on his hands to try improve balance. The beatings lessened once he was better able to get away, even when the odd low ranked ninja decided to try chase him Naruto quickly learned the best way to lose them in the maze of alleys.

December after his eighth birthday saw the young blond buying clothes for the first time, clothes from a shinobi store where the owner didn't sneer as he walked in. His current outfit was threadbare just from his current exercise regime and he knew he would need something better for when he started the academy.

He quietly signed his request to the heavyset man - three sets of an outfit and the basics of what was necessary for the academy, before the man came out from behind the counter.

"Name's Kawaguchi Isao," he signed to the blond, crouching to better see the boy's face still hidden under a hood with high collar.

"Uzumaki Naruto, not deaf, mute" Naruto responded, tilting his head so the hood fell off.

"Well then kid, let's see what I can find for you, anything specific clothing wise?" Kawaguchi asked as he walked towards the required section of the store, looking at the boy for his response as he went.

Naruto hesitated to bring his hands up before bolstering is courage and beginning, "Long pants and shirt, something with a hood and all in darker colours. Lots of pockets..." He hesitated again before looking down as he begun his next query. "Do you have any suggestions to cover my neck? I-... I don't like showing it."

Kawaguchi's face twisted into a scowl at the implications of the last comment before nodding. "I think we can come up with something here with no worries, do you have a budget?" "Cheap" Came the one signed response before he went further into the racks. "Sensible. How bout this? You can get a weapons pouch or two for additional storage and they'll last a good few years. Jacket has inside pockets and I think a bandanna around your neck will be good, until you can switch it out with a hitai-ate. Sound good?"

Naruto nodded and accepted the clothes as they were handed to him. "Chuck them on in the change room, we can bin those rags you've got now and I'll grab you another two sets and some shoes."

The clothes fit well, pants tucking into the ankles of his new shoes as he wriggled his toes in an attempt to accustom himself to the new footwear. One weapons pouch was attached to Naruto's right thigh and the other on the back of his pants at the middle. Now prepared the blond paid the man, thanked him for his kindness and left to enrol himself in the academy.

It was a little after one by then and Naruto nervously knocked on the door to administration, hood already up and hiding his distinctive hair.

"Come in." A kind, high pitched voice called and the boy opened the door, nervous about how this stranger felt about him but determined to stick with his decision. "How can I help you?" Her voice was still kind, but Naruto knew she had not yet realised who he was. Waiting for her to look up when she realised he wasn't saying anything he responded in sign. "I'd like to enrol for first year."

"Do you have your parents permission?" She asked, still not looking anywhere bar his hands or her papers.

"Orphan." Came his short reply.

"Guardian then?"

"None."

The lady sighed heavily at this before finally giving Naruto her full attention, sitting back in her chair. "What's your name?" The nervousness made it hard for Naruto to bring his hand together but he eventually did, slowly giving her his name. "Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto watched as her face twisted, his muscles coiling in preparation to run if she decided to get violent.

The whiskered boy was saved by a loud knocking on the door, startling him into turning towards his now blocked exit. Tension slowly bled from his shoulders though as he recognised the large body of who he presumed to be the chef from Aki no Shokuji. Over the past two years they had built an odd relationship, never actually talking despite the time passed. However, at some point the large man had begun putting occasional notes in the bag, small wishes for him to enjoy it and an offer to come in Naruto was always too scared to accept. Naruto responded to this by writing on the back of the note and wedging it in the door to be found the next day.

The blond had never gotten the man's name, and while he had never given his he didn't doubt he knew who he was. This combined with the fact Naruto had never had an issue with the meals made from leftovers he'd been given did lead the boy to trust the man - even if only the slightest bit.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to enrol my son and you'd left the door open. Is there an issue?" The large man asked kindly, his son just behind him munching on a bag of chips.

"Well, usually we require guardian consent and this... boy doesn't have one. So I was about to tell him to leave, once he has I'm sure I can organise your own sons enrolment." The pause before boy was obvious and her smile barely hid her satisfaction at being able to get rid of the demon so easily.

"A fifth of our forces come from orphans, I don't really see the issue. A fair few of them even leave their orphanage to live off the stipend they receive while in the academy and become wards of the Hokage as they prepare to join the forces, I don't see why this one should be any different." The smile on her face became strained as she realised that yes, the man was right and she couldn't refute what he was saying so she had to let the demon stay. Additionally she recognised him as Akimichi Chouza, head of his clan so she really was in a corner.

"Of course, my mistake. I'll just get the paperwork for you both to fill out and you can hand it to me when completed." She said doing just that. Naruto didn't like the look in her eye when her gaze turned to him, the badly hidden loathing nearly making him flinch. Despite that he accepted the papers and pen, sitting next to the large man as he begun to fill it out.

The first issue he came across was guardian, and the next was an address for any mail they may have to send students. Completing all that he could of the form Naruto glanced nervously between other members of the room, the crunching of chips obnoxiously loud in the silence to the blond.

Chouza noticed the glances and as soon as he finished his own paperwork he turned to the boy, a genial smile making it's way onto his face. "Do you want some help with that?" Hesitantly Naruto nodded and handed over his papers.

Chouza flipped through, scanning the messy writing for any mistakes before he became to the section on guardians. By-passing that, he kept going until he found the other area of concern. Address. All other areas were filled out well enough excepting those two. He sighed internally, he'd known about the state of affairs for the boy next to him for long enough, but without contact there was no way to offer help as he'd wanted and the kid disappeared faster than Tora if you went close.

A smile graced Chouza's face with the realisation he could now do something and he turned to the blond. "I can take you to admin in the Hokage tower to help sort these out if you'd like?" Nervous about the idea of being openly around more people Naruto tried to draw strength from the kind man next to him. Choji watched with the rapt attention of any curious child.

Hands coming together again Naruto signed "Arigatou gozaimasu" (Thank you).

"It's no issue, follow me and I'll help you out at the tower, we can hand in the papers once you're done." Chouza expertly hid his surprise at the use of sign, and Naruto obediently nodded and trailed after Chouza with his son next to him, pulling his hood up as they went.

"My name's Akimichi Chouza by the way, and my son next to you is Choji. The two of you should be in the same class." Naruto just nodded at this, acknowledging what was said but not bothering to reply when he knew the man wouldn't be able to see his response.

They were about halfway to the tower when Choji's restraint was overcome by his curiosity and he stopped munching to ask, "What's your name?" When this didn't get a response he could understand - more hand movements - he asked another question. "Can you not talk? Why can't you talk? Doesn't everyone our age have a guardian? Why do-" Thankfully Chouza cut his son off with a hand on his shoulder before the questions could get any more invasive, noticing the tension building back up in the blond's shoulders.

"His name's Uzumaki Naruto-" Here the boy flinched as the people who heard the name turned to glare at him, memories dragged up by the questions being compounded in his mind - dead eyes, phantom screams and searing pain. In response Chouza glared right back and laid what he hoped was a comforting hand on the blond's shoulder. Naruto flinched from that too and Chouza's glare tripled at what that likely meant.

"-And I'd assume no, he can't speak. But he knows Elemental Sign well enough, and will learn the basic Konoha Sign all shinobi are taught in the academy along with you. I don't know the answer to the other questions but they're private and not our concern."

By this point the trio had arrived at the building and Chouza guided to the children to the office area where Naruto could get his stipend and see if any of the apartments they had specifically for students were available. Chouza quickly acquired the paperwork Naruto would need, handing it over to be filled as he asked about the amounts per month and rent cost. Proper process if anything broke in the apartment and other such things.

He was good enough at reading body language to see the emotions the receptionist tried to hide, the way she felt about the blond he'd led in. He was also smart enough to know that if they could make his life harder than it had to be then in all likelihood they would.

Naruto quickly filled out the papers, it was all fairly basic information anyway. Name; age; previous residence, for which he put the orphanage down - Takumi was his and so long as he was not associated with Naruto in any way the grave was safe; identification number, requiring more paperwork to receive one; and a description. Upon completion he handed the documents back to a patiently waiting Chouza and was given a handwritten info sheet.

The page had on it how much rent was - 100 000ryu/week($100AUD) - stipend amount - 160 000ryu/week - what to do if something breaks and more. Naruto considered they likely would charge him more if he didn't know, had been aware they would when Takumi had got a place for them, and was glad for Chouza's forethought to make sure they wouldn't.

The thought of Takumi brought his mood down, reminding him of the aching loneliness that had lodged in his chest after the boy's death. It'd taken a long time to be able to think of what had happened to his Aniki and acceptance had been slow, but visiting his grave had made the emotions abate with time. He still felt guilty and haunted by the events, and he'd never forget Takumi but he had a promise to keep, so he'd succeed as instructed, and damn well go far.

Coming back to the present Naruto was given a list of apartments that were available - all one bedroom, one bathroom, living-kitchen-cross places. Each had a couch, a bed, microwave, fridge, oven and stove-top. Truthfully they were all so cookie cutter that the only major difference between them was the location.

Naruto in the end chose one on the fifth floor of it's building, roof access down the corridor and a training ground he knew of about four blocks over. It was also about half way between the academy and Chouza's restaurant, other side of the village from the cemetery but that was fine - he could run and he had no other frequent haunts in the village.

With an apartment chosen he completed the paperwork, stole the pen he'd used by putting it in a pocket and followed Chouza back to the academy to complete his enrolment.

The trio arrived at the academy and made their way shortly back to the Chunin kunoichi in the office. Naruto observed as Chouza smiled at the woman as she checked the documents, and her own smile straining as she processed his future attendance. They left shortly after being informed that classes ran from 0830 to 1500 - with half hour and hour, recess and lunch breaks respectively - starting 2nd of February.

Signing a goodbye and another thank you to the father-son duo, Naruto turned and headed for a nearby tree. Pulling the bag of clothes he'd just bought from between the roots he took off at a jog towards his new apartment so he could settle in.

* * *

Chouza slumped heavily into his seat in the Blunt Kunai Bar, his eyes looking up to meet the worried and curious gazes of his old team mates. Shaking his head he sighed and gave a half-assed statement for what was up.

"I met him." It was blunt and lacked any detail, but the boy had been in enough of their conversations that the other two immediately knew who he spoke of. Naruto, as far as the civilians were concerned, practically disappeared after his sixth birthday. Where prior to that you might catch him around the markets or running through the streets at night once he turned six he sightings were a lot less frequent.

Chouza was the only one they knew of in the village who had any kind of regular contact with him - if empty trash bags count - and he'd told the other two of the situation. While they could have just grabbed the boy at any point in the two years that wouldn't be any way to get trust from him and he'd seemed to fare okay so they took a wait and see approach. They had held hope that the food left - leftovers but still a better meal than he'd get anywhere else without paying - would get him to trust Chouza in order to talk.

When that didn't produce results the man left messages, encouraging him to talk the next night or enter the restaurant so they could help. Just to check and see if he was doing okay, or needed anything beyond the food. While the return notes were promising - illiteracy was one thing they'd considered helping with - they always said little more then thanks for the food. It'd been a situation the three were unsure of, but elected to leave as was.

The civilian council wouldn't hesitate to have an accident happen to him if they could find him, and while he's not a shinobi the resulting investigation would've been out of their jurisdiction. Additionally, with the way he ran from anyone's approach they came to the conclusion he didn't want to be found or helped beyond what Chouza had given and the three had backed off. Now, Chouza had met him, which is a significant development compared to what little had happened in the last two years.

Shikaku raised a questioning eyebrow and Inoichi hummed, waiting for their friend to expand on his statement. "He was enrolling in the academy and it was blind luck that I was there to do the same for Choji, stopped the Chunin on duty from just tossing him out on his ass for 'not having a guardian' and not letting him enter. Bullshit of course, but I politely reminded her of the orphan fund and Hokage's Ward service and she handed us the paperwork to complete." The Ward Service was a bit of a blurry line between who's responsible for them. This made Naruto relatively safe from the council, as anything they tried against him would have serious legal repercussions, since he would then be under shinobi law enough that they could handle any investigation. The two sitting across from him just became more worried with the telling, while there was nothing particularly bad yet they knew their friend well. If Chouza was swearing even this much, something was up.

The rotund man shook his head and sighed, "He got stuck on the guardian question of course - not having one, and didn't have an address. I read it over for him and offered to help with the Ward Service. Up to that point I thought the kid was just quiet - not used to people and all that since he'd been silent as a grave. He's mute. Nodded and signed me a thank you in ESL." At that point Inoichi's eyebrows climbed to his hairline and Shikaku was frowning over his hands.

"Choji asked about it, just childish curiosity but the kid tensed up the more questions he asked. I told him his name was Uzumaki Naruto and at least half the street turned to glare. Kid looked ready to bolt at that moment and the flinch I got for putting my hand on his shoulder was massive. He got the same looks from the desk-nin when we set up his stipend as from the academy Chunin. Beyond that he ran off almost as soon as his enrolment was confirmed. Thanked me one last time and vanished into the crowd." At the end of his recount Chouza took the bottle of sake that had been sitting idle between them on the table and poured them each a saucer, waiting for a response.

"Mute." Inoichi repeated, not quite sure how to respond.

"He had a bandanna around his neck too, like how some people wear hitai-ate. It's an odd accessory to have without reason." Chouza replied, Shikaku's frown growing across from him, before he sighed heavily. "I guess beyond this, there's nothing more we can do for him. Leave him to continue as he's done, the kid's had independence the last two years he wouldn't really appreciate if we tried to take that away from him anyway." Shikaku said, relaxing back into the chair.

The other two nodded in agreement with this statement and the conversation moved on from there.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review - you guy are gonna be my motivation to continue. I'll update weekly with what I've written so far, then it'll be an 'as I produce' basis. Constructive criticism will be appreciated.**

 **Additionally, I'm debating whether or not to put in a pairing. What are your opinions?**


	3. Antipathy

**A/N: I do not own Naruto, or any of the recognisable material. None of this is for profit.**

 **There are no new warnings for this chapter, but I believe the previous one is as dark as it will get anyway.**

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The first thing Naruto did in his new apartment was search the place. When he found nothing more than dust bunnies, a bed and basic appliances he gave a satisfied nod and checked the door lock. Simple key lock. A grimace crossed his face as he pushed down memories of what happened last time he lived somewhere. He was found. He was targeted. The door was broken and- Takumi's slack face flashed across his mind's eye, glazed brown orbs looking up at him.

Naruto rubbed at his throat, deciding to put a padlock on the inside of the door and use a window. Scrutinising each of the four available windows he thought about which would be the most appropriate entrance. The one to the corridor was out - though it'd have to also be secured like the door. The bathroom window was too small but that would've been odd anyway. The bedroom was also out, if someone was that determined to get in he wanted to have a door between them as warning.

The last option was the one in the living room, definitely large enough to get through. It'd take a bit of work for anyone to get down to it from the roof as it was too low for someone to lower themselves onto it unless they were particularly tall. Naruto would have to scale the building whenever he wanted to come and go, hop across a couple of apartments before getting to the nearby tree. The difficulty would be well worth the extra security in his mind.

Course decided Naruto looked for the most efficient way to secure first the door. As he'd decided earlier, a simple latch and padlock on the inside should be sufficient.

The bathroom window could be left as it was. Examining the corridor window next to the door showed it had an outside key lock and slid up. There was little he could do with his resources about the glass, but another inside padlock should cover that. A look at the bedroom window revealed it also slid up and Naruto figured he'd get another padlock for there as well. The whiskered boy then went to study his new exit. He'd have to put a lock on the outside for this one, he decided. On the left going over onto the wall.

Naruto performed one last check that everything was as secure as he could make it and his spare sets of clothes hidden in the bottom of the closet. That done the boy slipped out his window and got down to the ground before making his way back across the village. The whiskered blond headed towards the shinobi shopping district, knowing of a blacksmith there that he'd noticed sold padlocks when he'd passed by. Naruto just held a small amount of hope that the owner would be fair.

It was a short visit to the blacksmith and while the man was gruff he was not unkind, so Naruto left the store with a little less cash but four locks, latches and nails. Tugging his hood further over his face Naruto melted into the crowd, dipping his hand into the pockets of others as he passed them to make up for his spending's. At this point Naruto was a good enough at the art that he hadn't been caught in what he was doing in over a year. The blond was secretly, exceedingly proud of this accomplishment.

The next month and a half passed quickly for the blond. He continued living the way he had - getting the leftovers from Aki no Shokuji for dinner after late night runs, reading books he borrowed from the library in the dead of night in the mornings. He continued stealing his lunch from street vendors and wallets from anyone else. That combined with his stipend meant Naruto had a nest egg building, which he was determined to save for his Shinobi gear.

When his first day at the academy finally arrived Naruto left his building not long after dawn with his hood up. Locking the apartment behind him Naruto meandered down the streets, grabbing a steamed dumpling for breakfast and trying to stay the twitching of his fingers. The whiskered boy knew he wouldn't be able to hide anything he managed to appropriate while in class.

Despite spending over an hour walking there Naruto was still the first one into class so, after finding his room he went to the back corner - close to the window for an easy escape route - where he took his seat and prepared himself to observe.

Over the following 40 minutes the other 30 odd students wandered in, many obviously nervous about the class. Others appeared to the blond to be excited and a few obviously already had friends as they came through the door chatting. Blue eyes cut to the right as a boy with near black hair tied back into a spiky tail slumped into the seat next to him. To Naruto, he appeared to then fall asleep where he sat with his head on the desk.

Finally the teacher entered the room and the rest of the students quieted. Naruto looked at the young man, trying to get an idea on the kind of person he was. He wore the standard Konoha Chunin uniform, brown hair pulled back, soft looking dark eyes and a distinctive scar across his nose. The blond only hoped that he would be fair to him, but didn't count on it.

"Good morning class, my name is Umino Iruka - although you may call me Iruka-sensei or just sensei - and I will be your teacher while you are here at the academy. Now, we will start today and every day with role call. Please respond with 'here' when I call your name." At that Iruka turned around to grab a clipboard and Naruto shifted in his seat nervously, unsure how he was going to do as requested.

"Aburame Shino." He begun.

"Here." Was a monotonous response.

"Akimichi Choji."

"Here sensei." Naruto looked over at the other boy a couple of seats away before his attention went back to the front of the room. Iruka continued town the list of names and Naruto just got more twitchy the closer to his it got. By the time it got to his desk partners name - Nara Shikamaru, apparently - the other boy had looked up to fix him with a curious look.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto tensed as he realised his would have to be next, his honed fight or flight instincts flaring in response to his emotions.

"Here."

"Uzu-" Iruka suddenly cut off, paling slightly beneath the scar on his nose before he visibly took a calming breath and begun again."Uzumaki Naruto." At this, the blond raised his hand and held it in the position for 'here,' but the sensei didn't look up until he called a second time.

"Is Uzumaki Naruto here?" Naruto himself didn't miss the slight lilt that had entered the man's voice, hope that he wasn't. He crushed the part of him that was disappointed - the last person to teach him had been Takumi, he missed that connection and couldn't help but hope for another. He'd teach himself if he had to.

The blond knocked on his desk to gain the teacher's attention and again signed here, watched the grimace pass over the man's face as he saw and put his arm down as the last name was called.

"Yamanaka Ino."

"Here, sensei."

"Alight class, now that that is done welcome to your first day at the academy. While you're here you'll learn the skills that are required of you to become a ninja of our village." Iruka begun the introduction speech, eyes flickering around the classroom to all the rapt faces, eyes bright as he told them of all they would learn and achieve in the next four years. Naruto didn't miss that his face was the only one the brown eyes never landed on.

Two months into term Naruto concluded that yes, he'd have to teach himself. Their sensei deliberately ignored him, pretended he wasn't trying to talk to him when he begun to sign. Any questions Naruto had went unanswered, and he was never even acknowledged during their physical exercises. As a result Naruto stopped trying, simply paying attention to the lectures and subjects so he could get books for it later.

When it came to taijutsu, he tried to mimic what the rest of the class was being taught but when Iruka ignored his efforts he stopped seriously trying. Takumi had told him about muscle memory, and made sure he jumped and rolled his landings right when he begun. He didn't want to give himself bad habits so the blond decided to stick with what he already knew - be fast enough they can't hit you.

Throwing was easier for him to figure out on his own, to get the flow and momentum right to hit a target with the training kunai. That he practiced with the others, and at night after adding to his exercise regime, after promising to push himself faster at those times.

All the other things they were being taught was bookwork, and when Naruto went to the academy library the Chunin there showed her dislike of him by throwing him out. He stole the books for himself instead, and spent the free hours he could of daylight to read through them to teach himself.

Additionally, none of the students in the class particularly liked him. He was 'that weird kid who never says anything,' the one who parents warned their children away from.

In the third month of classes, Iruka introduced the idea of chakra, explaining the basics and telling students how to access theirs. The method they were introduced to was meditation, a 'look inside yourself, feel yourself' concept Naruto struggled with. He found it difficult to turn off his awareness of the outside world, so much of his life having relied on being aware of his surroundings at all times.

He opted to practice in his apartment with all the locks engaged. Come night, practice is exactly what Naruto did. Carefully, the blond recalled the words his sensei had spoken to the class - about feeling yourself, every inch of yourself and searching for the energy inside. He described it as a flowing warmth in the chest area.

So that's what Naruto did, first focusing on his toes, feet, ankles, calves, thighs to hips. Moving on he felt his fingers, hands, wrists, forearms, upper arms, shoulders. He next focused on his head, his neck - the numb spot he knew was naught but scar tissue. At this point the blond had managed to fall into a light trance, no longer hearing the sounds of night coming through the thin walls.

He then moved onto his chest, coming across a bright blue glow, brighter then he would've thought possible. Realising this was his chakra, Naruto carefully examined it. He felt it within himself and followed it back around his body, thrumming with life. A closer inspection and the blond saw red bleeding into his own mass in a thin stream, meeting the blue half way and mixing, turning from red to purple to blue.

Curious the whiskered boy followed the red down towards the source to his navel, as he reached what seemed to be the origin point the world turned black. The black then seemed to twist, turn in on itself as Naruto's sense of gravity and space was disrupted before righting and coming back into colour - as suddenly as it begun.

Naruto shook off his disorientation, righted himself and looked around, confusion crossed his face as he found himself in a sewer. He knew his village, every twist and turn, shop and house and this sewer - this wasn't part of it. The blond's shoulders slumped and breath whispered from between his lips. As with all things in his life, it didn't matter the how's and why's or where's, only that it was and he had to make the best.

With that resolution the eight year old walked through the old sewer, sticking close to the walls as his feet sloshed through dirty water. Naruto continued moving forward for what felt to him like hours, not relaxing his guard in this unfamiliar place and being prepared to bolt should he be given reason to. Eventually though, the blond came to a large open chamber, it was lighter then the hall he'd been walking down but it was also tinted a faintly red colour.

Naruto moved deeper into the room, slowing when he saw the massive bars ahead of him. Where there appeared be a gate, that was held closed by a piece of paper that read seal in a messy scrawl. The pieces started to put themselves together in the boy's mind and he tilted his head as he moved closer. When his nose was almost pressed up against the bars Naruto stopped walking and looked into the darkness.

When nothing change in front of him the boy cautiously lifted his hand and knocked on one of the bars, making it ring out through the room. Naruto was definitely afraid of the beast - he'd heard more then enough of what it'd done to warrant that - but that didn't mean he'd cower from the Kyuubi. If he could get here as he was now then the fox was to be another fact of life and Naruto drew on his will to survive in order to face the beast without showing his fear.

An eye opened in the darkness, peering out through the bars at the blond before the head tilted to reveal the other.

"What, brat? I was sleeping." The deep voice rumbled out into the room as the Kyuubi lazily moved more into view of the blond. Naruto simply shrugged in response, the Kyuubi wasn't being near as hostile to him as villagers, wasn't ignoring him either, but the whiskered boy simply had no answer.

The Kyuubi watched the child for a moment before snorting out a breath. "Then leave." He waited as Naruto slowly brought his hands up, putting them into position for how and shrugging to emphasize his point. At that, the Kyuubi sighed heavily.

"Sit." He instructed, and Naruto followed the order without question, ignoring the dirty water beneath him. "Meditate. Focus and feel your body again, feel yourself." With those words the two closed their eyes, Kyuubi to return to sleep and Naruto to attempt to reawaken.

The blond came back to himself to find his body stiff from being held in the one position too long, with sunlight streaming into his eyes. Before moving to prepare for the day, he focused again on himself and felt that blue energy thrumming throughout his body. Nodding to himself for achieving his goal Naruto stood, stretched and headed for the shower.

It took a week before everyone learnt to access their chakra and draw it into their hands. Some could barely manage, only getting a slight blue glow at their fingertips as they held the o-hitsuji(ram) sign - the first Iruka taught the students. Naruto quickly realized from this that he had a lot more chakra than others, as even when he tried for the smallest amount he was able to gather the boy's small hand still emitted light like a bulb.

They were introduced to each of the twelve hand-signs, Iruka having them practice until he was satisfied they had the positions correct. Naruto found this particularly easy, as hand signs were already a large part of his life and it was just a matter of memorising these new ones. Although the boys ease was fortunate, as Iruka didn't check that he had completed the exercise sufficiently.

After that, they were told the sequence for the henge(transformation) jutsu - osu buta, saru, o-hitsuji(boar, monkey, ram) - and how to concentrate on the image you want. The blond boy tried, along with the rest of the class but it was several weeks before even one person got a reasonable henge. A quiet boy by the name Aburame Shino, and Naruto concluded that he likely received help outside of class from his clan to achieve it. The blond was confused though, as he was having the least luck with the jutsu.

All his other classmates seemed to have the issue with transparency, their disguises being see through and blurry in places while Naruto felt his just burst. The blond found he couldn't hold all of his chakra into the shape he wanted to. The whiskered boy received the answer to his problems not from the teacher - Iruka found it easiest to completely ignore the murderer of his parents, and the boy didn't make it hard - but from his tenant.

The fox had been observing his hosts many attempt at the jutsu, and knew immediately that significantly too much chakra was being put into the technique. Kyuubi was fond of only one thing, and that was sleep - he'd gladly spend a millennium sleeping, if mortals would let him. So when the blond child's silent frustration was great enough that it disturbed his rest the Kyuubi got annoyed and slightly curious. It was very rare for his jailor to feel strongly enough to project to him.

The kitsune was not a heartless bastard, and had seen that the boy's sensei was not going to help him at all. He figured a nudge in the right direction couldn't hurt his host. Additionally, the fox concluded doing so would allow him to get back to sleep. So, he spoke up. "Kid, control. Find a book on it. You're using too much."

At that comment the fox was amused when his host jumped in surprise - not expecting to hear a voice in his head, then the sensation came across their link as if the blond had tilted his head in contemplation. In reality, that is exactly what Naruto had done. He considered asking for more clarification, but a gruff "I'm going back to sleep." made him reconsider.

That night, after Naruto had completed his exercise and gotten his dinner from the back of Aki no Shokuji and wedging a responsive thank you note in the door, Naruto headed to the academy. Sticking to the shadows the blond examined the on grounds library - they'd been in there for class and he knew from the tour that all the doors had seals to prevent entry. That left Naruto with windows to enter, but that was his preference anyway so he found no issue with that.

Walking around to each, he found all the ones on the ground were locked from the inside so he scaled the building to a higher one. The upper windows were small, and the blond knew it'd be a bit of a squeeze for anyone larger than him to get into. Due to this, they were only latch locks, as the academy teachers didn't think anyone young enough to fit through would want to. Unsheathing Takumi's knife he still kept strapped to his arm, it was a work of seconds for the blond to get the window opened.

Landing silently on the floor below him Naruto wandered down the aisles, searching for chakra control as the fox suggested. In his search though he came across a book titled _Fuinjutsu: The Basics of Sealing_. Naruto considered the book, knowing that it was this that had caused him to be hated in an indirect way. Furthermore, it was also this art that kept him from entering through the door - what else could it achieve.

Reaching a decision the whiskered boy grabbed the book and returned to his search for books on control. Finding one, called _A Guide to Controlling Chakra_ , Naruto snuck out from the window he entered through and returned home. The only evidence the blond left behind was two missing books and an easily dismissed set of footprints.

After the academy had been released after the next day, Naruto went back to his apartment to read the book on chakra control. While the blond was incredibly interested in what he would find in the book on seals he knew getting the control to achieve a henge was priority. The book first explained what was known of chakra - that it was a physical/spiritual energy combination - and a few of the things it could be used for. Skimming that section the blond found the first exercise on control. Reading through the exercise he quickly dropped back outside to get what he would require before returning to begin.

The idea the book worked off was to first establish the reader's current control level and work down through the listed exercises until they could achieve whatever goal had been set. So, rock in hand, Naruto begun.

The fist sized rock was held to Naruto's forehead and he concentrated on releasing chakra at that point in the correct amount until it stuck. The next stage would be being able to do so with very little focus on the rock. From there the blond would have to decrease the size of the rock and therefore its weight, which translated to the amount of chakra required to hold it. Once the reader could do such with a leaf, the book first suggested to master the exercise - being capable of sticking the leaf and paying it no mind.

The books following exercise was simply to increase the number of leaves one was sticking. After that, the reader would vary the objects, having some as leaves, some small rocks to larger rocks, increasing the difficulty by not needing a uniform amount of chakra to hold the items.

Naruto didn't read past those exercises, determining that such control would take a fair while to achieve and he could return the book for now, 'borrowing' it again when he needed.

After an hour of practicing with little result - the rock kept getting blast off, although the force at which that happened was slowly decreasing - Naruto decided to begin the book on sealing. There was limited daylight, and the blond figured he could practice his control after the sun went down.

 _Chapter One: Basic Theory of Seals_

 _Sealing is a fairly obscure art amongst shinobi, and rarely practiced beyond the memorisation of storage seals, explosive tags and other such basics. This is because it can take an individual many hours of dedicated practice to understand how they come together to achieve the desired result. It takes many more hours before an individual is knowledgeable enough in this art to design their own._

 _In reality, seals can achieve nearly any goal, all that is required is the correct knowledge and creativity. Some of the most impressive seals made are those that are used to contain bijuu in a human, who are then termed as jinchuuriki. The Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, was known to be a sealing genius and used them to make his jutsu the Hiraishin. The technique was used during the war and earned him the moniker 'The Yellow Flash, and gave Namikaze the ability to teleport.'_

 _The basis of seals is that like hand signs in jutsu, the lines one draws are what direct the chakra. Due to this, theoretically one could directly translate any jutsu into a seal, requiring only an application of chakra to perform. Seals though are more versatile than hand signs, with a near limitless number of ways to draw and therefore direct chakra._

 _Handwriting is also important to this art, while variation is allowed and can even improve the effectivity of a seal it is necessary to be consistent in drawings. Perfect calligraphy is essential for any seal that is going to be used by anyone, but it is often found that the variance given by an individual's handwriting will make the seal react better to their own chakra._

 _This book is based on teaching someone aspiring towards being capable of fuinjutsu, not to copy already created seals but to be able to make their own. So to begin look at the example below._

Naruto looked at the image, noting the circular design, with an empty space in the middle that had a solid circle almost separating it from what seemed the main designs. From his view it appeared to be constructed from multiple small drawings, each connecting to the next through a single line as a link. The blond thought it odd, like the connections could've been fuller or more numerous to make the entire thing flow better - less disjointed. He continued reading.

 _This is a basic storage array, one safe to begin with as while it can only hold small amounts and is highly limited in what it can hold there is no danger of it blowing up. The next series of images is the array broken up into its individual cells, and this book aims to teach you how to arrange and rearrange those, and other cells, to create working seals._

 _For this basic storage, it has the fundamental channel node here - which is where chakra first enters the seal to begin to be directed on the correct path._

 _The second cell chakra runs through here, an isolation circle - isolating what has been place there to be stored. This is extremely versatile and important as it is a focal point on any array it is used in, other cells of the seal determining what happens to what has been isolated._

 _Chakra then diverts from there into a remembrance cell - this essentially records what has been isolated._

 _The next stage is a breakdown cell - turning what has been isolated into little more than its individual molecules. This cell is the reason this seal is safe, as opposed to storing an item in subspace it breaks it down. The advantages and disadvantages of this will be talked about in later chapters._

 _Direction cell - directing what was been broken down through the space left in the seal for storage._

 _The direction is linked with a chakra repelling cell - preventing the stored item from changing the seal, which would cause the user to be unable to retrieve the stored item._

 _A stasis cell - Keeping the item in its current form and position until a reapplication of chakra._

 _When removing the item from this seal a user reactivates it with a second channel node, the chakra is directed to first the remembrance cell, learning the previous state of the stored item._

 _A divert is added - moving the chakra from where it went on first activation to a different cell. In this instance it is used as a reverse flow and re-route, to direct chakra to the stasis cell, turning that off. The chakra then continue along it's first route, carried in reverse as specified back through the direction returning the item to the isolation circle._

 _Another divert is placed, leading to a reformation cell - reforming the item into its original state as specified by the remembrance cell._

 _The better a sealing a practitioner is, the more shortcuts they can take in their drawing. For example the seal below will achieve the same result as the first one depicted in this book. It is a simplification, cutting out parts that the drawer can due to knowing the way their chakra will flow through their array. These shortcuts are each specific to the individual and thus cannot be copied. This helps seal masters keep their works secret, as in the event someone else gets hold of the seal they must figure out what shortcuts have been taken in order to fully reverse engineer their works._

 _The shortcuts can also become an identifier, each master of sealing having specific ones they know they can take. Added in with the handwriting the creator of any seal may be determined by the style and shortcuts used._

 _This book aims to teach an aspiring fuinjutsu practitioner how to design their own seals and learn their own shortcuts._

By the end of that first chapter Naruto was fascinated. Even with what little there was, the entire art seemed to make sense to him. The blond could easily see how each line and turn and swirl could achieve what was said. He knew he'd have to practice his handwriting more - to get the consistency the book mentioned would be needed, but Naruto knew this was an area he could excel in.

Additionally, as he would be teaching himself there was no way any of the academy sensei could interrupt. Although, the whiskered boy knew it would take a long time reading and memorising to get anywhere near proficient. Added to that he didn't have a lot of spare daylight - spending much of it pickpocketing or reading the material the class was learning trying to keep up - the blond would be short on time to learn.

Noticing the sun was setting Naruto stopped and stretched, scaling down the wall so he could begin his afternoon ritual of exercising and dinner from Aki no Shokuji.

It took the blond a couple of months of practicing with his rock to be able to achieve a henge. He wasn't the last student to get it, but it still took significantly longer than he would have liked. Despite now being able to complete the jutsu, Naruto opted to continue the chakra control exercises. By now Naruto was down to being able to maintain a marble sized rock on his forehead with very little concentration. The whiskered boy had taken to reading the sealing book and practicing drawing them on paper he'd procured while maintaining the rock.

As a way to continue seeing his brother while he did these things, Naruto would take a perch in a tree near Takumi's grave, signing out the ideas he got from his reading to share it.

When the midyear tests came, Naruto was as prepared for them as he felt he could be. He'd read ahead of his class in each subject and the only area he knew that was lacking was taijutsu. The blond had finished his book on sealing a couple of weeks back, having learned from it all he felt he could and returned it, procuring for himself another.

Thus it was with a fair amount of shock Naruto received his results. While not being marked fully wrong on any of his questions, Iruka had nit-picked at every possible point to give the lowest grade he could. Naruto's eyes turned to glaciers at that, and he reaffirmed to himself that he had only himself and the world wouldn't ever be fair to him.

His birthday that year was uneventful, removing both himself and all he owned from his apartment to spend the night running through the village avoiding people. His return in the morning showed the blond a smashed window. The graffiti on his walls demonstrated to the whiskered boy their displeasure at not finding him there, and he repressed the image of his brothers glazed eyes.

He stuck as much to the shadows and out of sight as he could when he left a report of the incident at the Hokage Tower, and the blond didn't spend a night in his apartment for the next month. At the end of that, Naruto had created a seal that would keep the windows and doors locked and much more difficult to break. A quick application of those added to the security the padlock provided, and Naruto was once again sleeping in his own home.

The year passed and Naruto studied, progressively improving his chakra control until he could maintain five leaves on his person. He kept them hidden under his clothes to maintain them whilst in the academy.

The new year saw him back at Kawaguchi's shop, purchasing another set of outfits after his year of growth. Money was no longer an issue for the whiskered child, but stealing was a habit he couldn't so easily break. His books were all still stolen.

First day of academy showed Naruto that this year would be worse than the last though. Hatsu Mizuki was a grey haired man who wore a bandanna over his head and looked at Naruto with cold eyes. The blond quickly discovered that he would not restrain himself to only looks. Many times the man gave Naruto what the boy knew was false instruction - the incorrect way to do maths, wrong dates in history. The man would spill things on the handouts they were given, so Naruto could not read them.

The sensei would also call on him to answer questions, but after the first time when his signed response was mocked and he was asked to speak he never answered them again. These incidents also had to dual purpose of decreasing the class' opinion of the boy, increasing the bullying and ridiculing of his classmates. Naruto ignored the jeers with a skill born from years of practice.

Taijutsu was by far the worst though, Mizuki would ask Naruto to perform the kata and adjust every stance as he went. Throughout this the man would smile kindly and encourage him. The stances were wrong and unbalanced, and while Naruto performed them he refused to allow his body to remember them.

When they started spars, despite not having a solid style Naruto did fairly well. His constant speed training made up for his lack of style and he'd always dodge his opponents attacks, landing hard blows that usually took his opponent down in only a few shots. If they had uneven numbers the blond would face off against Mizuki, and while the man held back his skill for appearances sake Naruto could feel he didn't pull his punches at all.

His tests were returned to him with lower scores and answers he knew he didn't write, and he was given a different worksheet than the class for kawarimi. That jutsu he learnt by observing the rest of the class and how they performed it - or tried to. He ignored Mizuki's advice and prompting.

Halfway through the year Naruto was grabbing more books from the academy library, anatomy as that was what they were focusing on now and a new seal book. He'd also determined that he'd achieved as much as he could in physical fitness with his knowledge and resources. Thus the blond searched out a book on taijutsu for further suggestions. The previous book on chakra control was also collected, as his control was as good as he could get with the leaf exercise.

From that third book though Naruto searched for any helpful suggestions. It went on about how the academy style could be adapted to an individual to form a new one - useless as he hadn't learnt it properly. Some prominent taijutsu users of leaf - Maito Dai and Senju Tsunade were featured. The blond continued until he reached the part that helped someone understand what kind of style they would need.

From this Naruto determined he was a speed type, who'd use decisive blows and his opponent's momentum against them. The blond knew himself well enough for that - if he couldn't run from the threat he'd dodge until he could cripple or kill in a decisive blow. Wearing down through useless hits wouldn't help him. Once the whiskered boy had determined that he skipped through to the chapter on physical conditioning, caring little for information that was irrelevant.

Resistance seal. A smirk crossed the blonds face as he realised that this was something he could do himself. The seal was designed to increase resistance the wearer had at all times. This was achieved by the seal funnelling the chakra it took from the wearer back through the body, then reinforcing the tendons with it. The chakra then imitates a rubber strap around the tendon, causing more force and strength needed to move each limb.

The book detailed a series of stretches and exercises Naruto would need to perform to keep and even increase both his flexibility and agility. It was pointed out to him in addition to his speed it would be beneficial to be able to out manoeuvre his opponents.

Nodding to himself Naruto recorded what he would have to do before pulling out some paper and a pencil to begin building his resistance seals.

It was two months after that that the blond had completed the seal, focusing primarily on that rather than furthering his chakra control. He'd opted to make the level of resistance adjustable. He'd made it with ten levels, well aware it'd take him years to activate them all but planning it that way to not have to buy supplies for new ones later. The chakra reactive, staining ink was a fairly expensive shinobi item and the blond, while pleased with the results, disliked that he had to spend so much.

Despite that, he'd carefully drawn the seal onto a long strip of black cloth that'd be mistaken for a bandage if it wasn't for the thickness. The boy had spent weeks designing the array so it covered the whole length. It was a work of repeats, each one Naruto activated would double the amount of resistance he felt, with a loop back to one connecting node so he could deactivate them all at once. Additionally the blond had carefully designed it so it only took half the width of the cloth, and on the other side drew on a series of arrays to prevent damage coming to it from water, fire, ripping or any other thing Naruto could think of.

The whiskered boy wore it wrapped around his left forearm, activated the first array and spent as much of the night and weekend as he could becoming accustomed to it. The healing the fox provided him proved to be a boon for Naruto in this, as the rapid regeneration of the muscles he damaged allowed him to work out harder for longer.

Once that project was completed Naruto read through the book of chakra control exercises. The first task was tree climbing, which the blond mastered easily. The exercise was essentially the same as leaf sticking, just adjusting the amount to compensate for his weight. The next was water walking, but after walking around with upwards of ten rocks stuck to him of varying weights, water walking was just a matter of figuring out how to adjust his output to counteract the currents. It took him a week to master that himself.

The books next exercise gave Naruto much more trouble. It was still leaf sticking, but he had to turn his chakra into essentially a string, and hold the leaf away from his forehead. This required controlling the output and containing it, along with maintaining the correct amount to hold the leaf. This was the basis of the puppetry Suna nin prided themselves on, according to what the blond read.

Reading ahead Naruto found the next exercise, which was to be able to create a layer of chakra over his skin, as thin and solid as he could make it. As a test for that, the book suggested trying to stop a senbon for stabbing you through it, and reducing the size of the area covered to just the contact point. Beyond that, the faster you could summon the protective layer the better, and Naruto figure that'd be a useful skill in a fight as it was.

The last piece of information within the book was on chakra suppression, which required high levels of control. The chapter explained sensors, a skill that requires months of training or a talent for it which Naruto didn't have. The boy also knew he didn't have time to train another skill, already stretched thin between the academy, homework/self study, sealing, chakra control and physical exercise. The boy had already relegated pickpocketing to something he did when he passed people in the afternoon, not having a truly desperate need for money thanks to the stipend.

But chakra suppression he could learn. It was a matter of essentially condensing one's chakra within themselves as much as possible, and holding the rest within his body. The less in the air around a person the harder to sense, and the smaller someone condensed their core also made it harder to feel. Naruto's life up to this point was about hiding, if he could get better at doing so the blond was definitely going to do so.

Naruto worked for the next month leading up to his birthday spending at least an hour a day training his control and suppression each. He wanted to have the best chance of hiding successfully this year on his birthday. While he'd been okay the previous, the whiskered boy was wary of what Mizuki might do and who he might bring along. He was confident enough in his seals holding to keep them out if he wasn't there, but if he was he had no doubt they'd find a way in.

He'd painted a sub-space storage seal in white - making it invisible - onto the wall, and keyed it to him. He'd taken to keeping all his stuff in there, keeping it from being stolen since he knew how easy it could be to do so - even with his seals locking the apartment.

Naruto's birthday came and passed, and Naruto kept safe by holing up in a corner of the village, doing what small amount of suppression he'd managed to achieve and staying out of the way. When the boy checked his apartment, he found graffiti on the outside wall and signs they'd tried breaking in but little else and was pleased with his efforts.

So the boy trained, studied extensively on what they were taught and more outside of class. If it was mentioned in lessons Naruto would procure a book from the academy library, and had rigged the seals to let him past before the window got too small as he grew. Occasionally the blond would also go to the village library to do further research if the topic interested him.

Mizuki continued his sabotage, giving the boy barely passing grades. He continued mocking and making fun of him, openly ridiculing the boy for mistakes both real and fake. Naruto continued to ignore both him and the class.

When the students studied biology, Naruto went further and looked at how his vocals should have worked, trying to think of a way to allow him to speak. While he didn't care anymore about the handicap - hadn't for a long time - he knew most clients were civilian and likely wouldn't know any SL(Sign Language). Although the Elemental version of the language was unified and common throughout the various shinobi villages, it wasn't so prominent in the civilian population. So he came up with a technique using the chakra strings - which he'd mastered after a good three months - and supplementing those for his vocal chords.

Naruto experimented with the idea when he had time, finding that for it to work he'd have to make them much more solid, able to be affected by his breath. It took the whiskered boy six months total to control his chakra enough to master the senbon exercise, getting the time it took to build a pinhead sized shield down to under a second. Three months after he returned to experimenting with chakra vocals.

As the exercise was internal, the boy didn't bother with hand signs, simply sat in the tree near his brothers grave and experimented. It was another six months - by which point Naruto was just passed his eleventh birthday - before he really got anywhere with the exercise. Progress was quick beyond that but while Naruto could talk he couldn't get it to sound right.

The chakra strings simply made a different sound to normal vocal chords, and he couldn't regulate them the way people did instinctively to create different pitches, tones and inflection. Monotonous was the best he could achieve with the technique. In addition to that, the blond found redirecting so fine and concentrated an amount of chakra to take more focus than he could afford, so while he made sure to maintain that level of control with regular practice he never bothered to tell anyone of the skill. As Naruto didn't have anyone he considered worth telling the boy considered it a non issue.

Naruto also found himself with a liking for poisons when they were discussed in class, his attitude and ideology of removing threats as fast as possible leaning towards them. He also immediately recognised that with his skills as a pickpocket, he could just as easily poison someone as they passed - and it wasn't a skill he'd allowed to rust. In fact, he'd become a bit of a kleptomaniac over the years. If he saw something he considered of value he'd often swipe it, and he'd gotten a fair collection of kunai, shuriken and senbon that once belonged to Mizuki. Naruto figured it was the man's own fault, he was practically asking for it whenever he came close to the boy to offer 'advice'.

He borrowed books and learned poisons, coating some of his weapons in either a paralytic, knockout or lethal version - carefully separated into his pouches.

The Kyuubi made suggestions every so often, pokes and prompts in the right direction, such as that he provided the boy a strong enough regenerative ability to prevent poisoning. The two had an odd relationship, as Naruto never went into his mindscape to talk it was mostly Kyuubi stating something before rolling over and going to sleep.

The class as a whole was taught both ESL and KSL1(Konoha Sign Language One) which genin and above needed to be familiar with. While Naruto couldn't find books on any above that he knew there were at least 10 different languages. Code breaking, code making, morse code, geography, maths, history, culture, camping, hunting, trapping, tracking and stealth were also skills that were imparted onto the class. The dispelling of genjutsu was covered briefly, a kind of side to their ninjutsu exercises. Taijutsu and throwing skills were also practiced weekly.

By the end of the four years Naruto had managed to activate five levels of his resistance seals. He'd also taught himself a bit more then the academy curriculum, despite the many attempts at sabotage Mizuki had tried. Due to this, Naruto could see the hatred the man directed at him, the barely hidden loathing in his eyes. Since the silver haired man was the one to edit his tests to bring down his grade, Mizuki knew exactly how far above the rest Naruto was.

The day of the exam eventually came and Naruto arrived in the same manner as always - first to class and waiting silently for students and teachers alike. Iruka went through the role as was routine, before launching into a spiel about being a ninja of Konohagakure.

"Class, I am proud to see you have reached this far in our program, and am sure all of you will become ninja after this last graduation exam. I have watched you all grow and learn during the last four years, and have done my best to prepare you for the world. I will not lie to you and say it is all good out there. Your chosen career is dark, and some of you will die. But if you train hard and be strong enough that will not happen. Be strong, try hard and be proud ninja of our village. The Will of Fire burns brightly in all of you."

With that close, Iruka and Mizuki handed out all the tests. Naruto immediately begun, flipping over his paper and dispelling the genjutsu with nary a thought. Being so in tune with his chakra, the blond could immediately pick up the disturbance of a low rank genjutsu. Filling out the test with all the others the boy then begun drawing a seal.

Naruto knew Mizuki wouldn't hesitate to change this test as well, so as small as he could he drew a seal at the base of the page. This was a stasis seal, and would prevent any changes being made to the paper. The boy didn't care that doing so would make it difficult to mark, he wouldn't allow for failure in this test.

Once that was complete the class proceeded outside for weapons throwing. Five kunai and shuriken were given to each student, and they were to be scored on how close they got to the target out of a possible score of fifty. Mizuki gleefully handed badly balanced weapons to the blond, and had to hold in a grimace as a score of 38 was calculated, over the 25 needed to pass.

Taijutsu was next, and Mizuki resisted the urge to smirk as he thought of the beating he could disguise by their match. He previously had to hold back but this was a test, and the job was to challenge the kids. A little 'accidental' overestimation of the demon and he'd get by with a slap on the wrist. When it came to Naruto's turn he calmly walked into the circle, crouching slightly to settle on the balls of his toes.

Mizuki burst into action, charging him at a speed he didn't expect the blond to be able to dodge. Only he did. Naruto hopped away from the incoming punch a couple of steps. The blond sidestepped the follow up punch Mizuki performed, and did a backwards flip to avoid the leg sweep.

Naruto similarly dodged the next series of blows, even as Mizuki increased his speed as he tried to land a hit. Another combination of punches and kicks from Mizuki had the man pushing Naruto against the edge of the circle. When the blond dodged the two fast jabs the silver haired man performed, he followed up with a leg sweep in hopes the blond wouldn't be able to dodge - being too close to the edge and risking disqualification if he wasn't careful and stepped back.

Naruto took that opportunity to flip over Mizuki, hands providing leverage on the man's shoulders as he went. When he landed the blond hooked his foot around Mizuki's ankle and swept his sensei's foot from beneath him. When the man fell to the ground Naruto took the opportunity to put his knee to the silver haired man's throat, at which he quickly submitted the match.

Once the man did so Naruto silently got up off of his sensei and exited the ring. The final fight between Mizuki and Yamanaka Ino was uneventful and the class was released for a late lunch. An hour later the students were gathered back together for the last test - ninjutsu.

The process was briefly explained to the whole class - they'd be called one by one into another room where they'd be tested on the three ninjutsu they'd been taught during their time in the academy. Once that was complete they were free to leave.

Naruto waited patiently as the rest of his classmates were called up then tested, thinking about who he may get as a Jonin sensei and debating if they would actually teach him. When his name was called, the blond quietly got up and left the room to start.

"Okay. Uzumaki. I need you to perform both the henge and kawarimi, once you've done those produce three clones for me." Iruka said one the blond was in front of them. The man had never gotten past his aversion towards the quiet boy, and had been thankful when his assistant had started to focus on him. Calling him Uzumaki was the best he could manage.

Naruto quickly performed all three jutsu, first transforming into a copy of Iruka himself, knowing the appearance of the man well enough to get a perfect copy. After dispelling it he did a quick kawarimi with a log in the corner, repeating it to get back to the centre of the room once he'd received a nod. Lastly the blond performed the seals for the bunshin, three perfect blond clones appearing beside him. The four waited, unmoving as they were inspected, before Iruka nodded and gestured to the headbands on the table.

"Congratulations, you are now officially a ninja of Konohagakure. May the Will of Fire burn strongly within you." The man automatically repeated the phrase, turning to Mizuki once done in request to send for their last student.

Picking up the hitai-ate, Naruto tied it around his neck, removing his previous bandanna once done, ensuring that his neck would remain unseen. As hard as Mizuki had tried, Naruto had achieved his graduation and was proud of his accomplishment.

Once outside the academy, Naruto debated on what to do. He had no books left in his possession - having returned them the previous night. He didn't really need more money at this time, and also knew the repercussion of pickpocketing would be more severe now that he was a ninja. Training was an option, but also something he didn't feel like doing. In the end, the blond decided to visit his brother, to tell him of his ascension into the ninja ranks.

As the boy threaded through the crowd towards the cemetery, he suppressed his chakra as best he could. He still didn't like people knowing of his brother, and tried to make sure he was as hard to find as he could be. Tugging his hood further over his face, he made his way over to the grave and sat.

"Aniki," Naruto begun in sign, practicing his KSL1 while he was there, also making his conversation that much more private. "I graduated today. Mizuki was a fucker as usual, using genjutsu to try screw up my test and unbalanced weapons. Bloody bastards the lot of them. I'm concerned that the Jonin sensei I receive will be no better then the pair I've had so far considering my luck, but I've done this well by myself so I won't stop now. I'll get into ANBU Aniki, do as you said and succeed. I hope you're proud of me. I miss you, Takumi."

The blond remained seated at the grave for another hour, not saying anything but just reminiscing on his brother and the last four years. When the sun set Naruto stood and prepared for his night-time workout. Pausing before he begun his stretches the boy deactivated his resistance seal, he hadn't done so since he'd upped the level a couple of months back and wanted to accustom himself to his new speed.

Channelling chakra through the deactivation node at his wrist, Naruto begun his stretches. Once completed he took off, planning on building up how fast he was going till he was at full speed. Naruto headed towards the village wall for his run, it was the longest stretch of uninterrupted track he knew of and to first get used to the speed that was what he needed.

Quickly completing two laps Naruto pelted the third out going at the speed of a low Jonin. Skidding to a stop at the end the blond bounced on the balls of his feet a couple times before heading to the forest. The boy spent the next three hours dodging around trees and leaping over branches, passing through the village and making sharp turns through alleys and streets. He practiced all his flips and handstands and rolls, ensuring he could move and react at the speeds he was capable of reaching.

Stopping his exercise at ten when he arrived behind Aki no Shokuji, Naruto reactivated five levels of his seal before grabbing his dinner and jogging back to his apartment. 

* * *

**And that is that. I hope you all enjoyed the fic, and I hope you continue reading. I would love to hear what you think so far, ideas, opinions even criticisms. Hearing from readers is great, so feel free.**

 **Until next week then.**


	4. Mandatory

**A/N: I do not own Naruto, or any of the recognisable material. None of this is for profit.**

* * *

Kakashi stood in front of the Hokage, book away for once among ten on his fellow Jonin. They were all lined up to receive what would be their team assignment after today's exam. Iruka sat next to the Hokage, prepared to answer any questions they may have about the possible students. Nara Shikaku was on the other side as the Jonin Commander of the forces, getting a first look at what he'd eventually have to work with, and who will no longer be available for missions.

Kakashi mostly ignored the proceedings, tuning in only when he heard his name.

"Hatake Kakashi, you will have Team Seven containing Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto." The silver haired man accepted the files from Iruka and gave them a scan, tuning out the other team assignments.

Uchiha Sasuke - rookie of the year. No real weak areas, but nothing standing out over anything else. Well rounded at a high level. Broods a lot apparently, generally ignores everyone and is reported to want to kill his brother. A head case then.

Haruno Sakura - scores just below Sasuke in all things theoretical and ninjutsu. Practicals and physical conditioning only just acceptable by academy standards. Genjutsu maybe? Personality report says she's unmotivated and a fangirl. A Sasuke fangirl. On a team with Sasuke.

Uzumaki Naruto - sub-standard on the theoretical and high scores on the practical exercises. Managed to beat his sensei in a spar but can't do the academy kata? Hasn't spoken since he started. Another head case.

Kakashi sighed internally at how things were likely to go with such students. The two boys would attack individually and the girl would wait for her 'beloved' to get the bells for her. He had no hope for them.

Once the announcements were over and the Hokage had given the obligatory 'I hope your teams meet your requirements' Kakashi left the room. He wandered to the memorial stone, nose in his book from the moment he exited the tower doors to the time he arrived. Once there, Kakashi put down his book to report to his team.

"Sensei, Obito, Rin. Afternoon... I got assigned another team. Your cousin, Obito. The last Uchiha, Sasuke. He's reported to be good enough for his age. Sensei, your son is another. Not a lot of information on him, some of it is contradictory but... Apparently he hasn't spoken since he started the academy. The council blocked me from taking care of him - claiming that he was under civilian jurisdiction and I was of no relation, giving me no authority. Haven't met either of them yet. The third is a girl named Sakura, a Sasuke fangirl.

"The whole team is a disaster waiting to happen if they manage a pass. I was always going to be Sasuke's sensei; strategically I'm the only one able to teach him to use his sharingan. Civilian council has been on my ass to pass him. They have no authority and I don't care what they say but it is annoying putting up with their attempts to force me. The turnaround they'll do will be amusing at least.

"They'll want me to fail Naruto; the lot of them hate the kid for being a jinchuuriki. I won't listen to what they say in that regard either, but their flipping between pass the team and fail the team when I tell them I pass or fail _all three_ will be entertaining.

"I want him to pass, sensei. Sasuke will get another chance due to his value with the sharingan and Sakura's not motivated enough to get anywhere without a shove - dropping out won't do her harm. But Naruto... I want to get close to him. To help him.

"I don't know, team. Talk to you tomorrow. Ja ne..." With those parting words Kakashi left the memorial, book open once again and eye scanning the page.

* * *

Naruto was waiting in the classroom, early as usual and watched as the other student trickled in, talking amongst themselves in excitement. Shino sat next to him as was usual - the boy was almost as silent as him and didn't mind the blond's apathetic attitude.

A few of the braver students ridiculed him, asking how he could be a ninja if he never spoke. Some threw insults around - unimaginative ones they'd been using for years - like calling him an orphan and unwanted, but Naruto ignored them, having heard them all before. Beneath the jeers and excitement were some genuine questions and whispered comments - 'how can he be a ninja if doesn't talk, it's really creepy,' 'my mum always tells me to stay away from him, says he's a blight to society, whatever that means,' and 'he must have passed on his ninjutsu alone, all his tai stances are bad,' which also went ignored.

Eventually Sasuke walked into the room to sit at his usual desk, and the conversations in the room changed from the blond to the top rookie, girls fawning and cooing over him. When the time turned to 0830 Iruka walked in and shut the door, ordering everyone to their seats as he began the day.

"Students, now ex-students I suppose. I would like to re-iterate how proud I am of all of you. Each of you has worked hard to get to where you are, to graduate from this class, and I look forward to seeing you out in the field. Even working with you in a few years when you make Chunin yourself.

"As Konoha shinobi, the most important thing to us is our comrades. We work with each other, look after each other, protect each other and this makes us stronger. This strength we use to better our village, and the ideology we call the Will of Fire. You are ninja now, and you must do your duty to Konoha and each other to make our home a safe place.

"Things will not always be good, things will go wrong. You are adults now and I must warn you that the world can be a dark and scary place. With each other though, you can all rise above that and look to the good things. Genin teams are designed to be one of those good things, to become another family. So, I will tell you who you will be working with for the next few years, who will become your family.

"Team One..." Iruka then begun to list who will be on what team and who each would have a Jonin sensei, and it wasn't until Naruto heard his name that he paid any attention to what was being discussed.

"Team Seven is Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. You're Jonin sensei will be Hatake Kakashi." Sakura's squeal of excitement was promptly cut off when she heard who her third team mate would be. Naruto despaired silently for the likelihood of them ever being a functional team. The boy didn't care for any of his classmates, but those two weren't on his shortlist of those he could stand either.

The blond hadn't heard of Hatake Kakashi, and resolved to remedy that tonight. He knew the records for any Jonin were in the archives, which were secured with seals. So to waste time until his new sensei showed up - supposedly around lunch time - Naruto pulled out some paper and begun to plan. The easiest way to break into a restricted access seal would be to add himself, the blond concluded.

Previous study of all the village seals meant he knew how most worked - excepting the oldest ones done by true masters, the breakdown of those was still too difficult when he couldn't figure where a shortcut had been made. Fortunately for Naruto the archives had been done to allow use by everybody and so didn't hold enough personalisation to really deter him or detract the meaning.

He begun with a feed in cell - something he'd figured out when he wanted to add more sub-spaces to his wall seal. He'd needed to add more space cells and individual activation nodes, but adding them had been an easier and smaller solution then drawing a second seal entirely. The feed in was a slow activation, integrating itself into the existing seal to prevent destabilisation. In this situation at best destabilisation would set off the alarm, worst blow the building entirely.

Naruto drew in a reverse for the feed in, so when he needed to leave and remove evidence of his presence he could just deactivate it and leave. He added in a chakra identifier, what boiled down to an acceptance clause and a couple other things to tie it together.

A second piece of paper and Naruto quickly re-drew it, adding his shortcuts and personalisation's to get it to flow better into the original before destroying his draft. Four small seals were added to each corner, designed to emit just enough chakra from a small store he drew in to hold the page to the wall. These had a containment addition, to keep their chakra output from interfering with the other seals.

He drew up a second and third, in the event that there was more security on the inside he did not know of.

That completed, Naruto put away his things and sat waiting. Half an hour later and all the Jonin but Team Seven's had arrived and picked up their teams. Sakura had moved to sit next to Sasuke and the boy had stared out the window. Another hour passed and Naruto was mildly annoyed at having to wait so long - he had better uses of his time. Sakura had taken to glancing nervously at the blond, and looking like she was halfway to starting a one-sided conversation with Sasuke, before she'd look at Naruto again.

Despite his internal grumblings it was an additional hour and a half before the door was opened and a tall man with silver hair looked in.

"My first impression of you is, dull, boring, lacklustre. Meet me on the roof in five minutes." The man said before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto followed after his new team mates as they walked up the stairs, mentally urging them to walk a little faster than they were - it was a narrow corridor and the lack of exits made Naruto uncomfortable.

Arriving on the roof the trio sat down on a bench opposite to where their new sensei was lazing against the railing. The man's eyes trailed over the three of them, observing the way they walked and held themselves. He learnt nothing more than he found in the reports though.

When Kakashi felt he'd held them in silence long enough he began the usual first meet speech.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi and I have been assigned to be your Jonin instructor. Since I know nothing about the three of you I would like you to tell me a bit about yourselves. Your names, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future. You first pinkie." The entire speech was abrupt and it took a couple of seconds for Sakura to realise he was referring to her.

"Ano, could you give us an example, Kakashi-sensei?" She asked nervously. He sighed at that response but begun - he always picked the student most likely to ask about him first, but he'd hoped she'd at least have some confidence.

"Well, as I said my name is Hatake Kakashi. There's a lot of things I like I suppose, a few I dislike too now that I think about it... hobbies, not many of them and dreams for the future? Haven't really thought about it. Pinkie, go." Kakashi commanded.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, I like-" At this point the girl cut off with a glance at Sasuke and a blush crept onto her cheeks. "I dislike rudeness and-" That pause was followed by a nervous look towards Naruto. Picking up again Sakura continued, "My hobbies are shopping and-" The blush was more pronounced in this instance and her gaze lingered on the ravenette for longer. "My dream for the future-" The blush truly flourished on her face when she stopped this time and she turned to Kakashi for his next instructions.

The man sighed internally and turned his gaze to the next of the three. In his opinion the boy had done an admirable job at not reacting to the girl's obvious obsession. "Broody, go." He commanded.

Sasuke cleared his throat and met Kakashi's lone eye as he begun. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like few things, dislike a lot. I have no hobbies and my dream - no. My ambition - is to kill a certain man." He fell silent at that, just continuing to look silently at Kakashi.

Kakashi gave another internal sigh. Head case. Looking to the last of the three he gave the command again. "Whiskers, go."

Blue eyes looked at him from under the hood, and Kakashi momentarily wondered if he'd respond at all, since reports pointed at that he wouldn't. He was rather stunned then when the boy brought his hands up and rapidly begun signing in KSL1. That wasn't in the reports.

"Uzumaki Naruto. I like learning, dislike much, no hobbies, and have one dream." Finished Naruto put his hand down waiting on the response. He knew people had forgotten he was mute - it having been so long since it was first revealed and he'd bothered to even try communicating. He also knew his response contained no useful information, but the boy guessed that was part of the exercise. Besides, in his opinion, if their sensei didn't share anything of himself he wasn't required to either.

The confused looks Naruto was receiving from his teammates told him he'd been too fast for them to catch what he'd shared and Kakashi's one eye showed surprise. His guess was right - people had forgotten he was mute.

For his part Kakashi quickly contained his surprise, wondering how it was in four years such a thing had been missed. Did they not pay attention to the boy? He was barely given any information from the three of them either, Sakura sharing the most in her glances. Sasuke seemed to simply not care about anything beyond what he stated. The blonds face was impassive, and his response indicated he simply didn't want to share.

Shrugging to himself, Kakashi moved on to the next part of his routine. "Well, that's good to know but unfortunately for you, none of you are actually Genin yet. There's still another test before I accept you as my team. I will warn you, this test has a 66.6% failure rate, and if you're one of those you get sent back to the academy. Meet me at Training Ground Three tomorrow at 0600. I'll advise against eating breakfast because if you do you're liable to throw up. Ja ne." With a wave and an eye smile Kakashi disappeared from the roof in another swirl of leaves.

Naruto wasn't particularly surprised by this development - there were too many return students previous years in comparison to the ones who passed the graduation test. He gave a nod to the other two on the roof before vaulting over the railing.

The whiskered boy used chakra to cushion his fall on his legs, throwing the rest of his momentum into a forward roll and popping up at the end. The boy then jogged to his apartment to spend the rest of the daylight hours with an anatomy book he'd procured from the village library.

Once the sun set Naruto stretched before beginning his nightly workout, running through the village and doing flips and handstands for the next three and a half hours. Nine-thirty saw the blond grabbing his dinner from the back of Aki no Shokuji before he made his way to the tree near Takumi's grave. Once there the whiskered child maintained his chakra control, ensuring he could still block a senbon with nary a thought and less chakra than a pinhead.

When his body clock told him it was an hour past midnight the blond stopped his exercise and suppressed his chakra to the best of his ability. Dropping out of his tree Naruto the slunk through the village, sticking to shadows and out of sight through the back alleys.

While the Hokage Tower was still open, the blond wanted to avoid people knowing he'd been there. As such Naruto circled around the building, silently scaling up to the third floor and walking around to the window he knew was across from the archive entrance. Popping up onto the sill and checking for people, locks and seals - none, why bother when one can enter through the front door, and enough people between there and here to make sentries redundant?

That done Naruto pushed opened the window, dropping to the floor and closed it afterwards.

Examining the seal on the door Naruto cursed his lack of thought. Pulling out one of the seal tags, he scrawled and additional one onto the spare end the page had. This one had the written version of a henge, a chakra store and memory cell. It was rough, but it'd do its job of hiding the seal from sight until he could remove it when he left.

Problem fixed, Naruto carefully attached his addition to the section of the original where it recorded signatures with access, activating first the sticking seals then the main array. When that one finished integrating itself, Naruto focused on the image of the door previously and activated the henge seal, slipping through the door when he saw all working as it should.

Shutting the door behind him the blond looked up at the many scroll within the archive. Lighting up his hand with a summoning of chakra Naruto searched for a way to identify the organisation of the room. Scanning the shelf in front of him Naruto saw it had a date and the rank Chunin on it. Assuming he'd find Kakashi under Jonin the boy walked along the rows until he found the correct aisle.

Unsure how to proceed, Naruto pulled out a nearby scroll and looked at it. On it was the name Inuzuka Daichi and a date. The blonde took a guess that it was date of promotion - being fairly recent - and walked down the aisle a ways. Beyond that it was just a methodical search for the correct name and it took the boy an hour before he found the scroll he was looking for.

Another seal was applied to negate the one directly on the scroll and Naruto begun to read. The boy quickly discovered that little more than an overview was on the scroll, any truly important information being kept in a more secure location. Still, even a little would be good so Naruto returned to scanning the scroll.

It started with his parents, mentioning being the last of his clan. Date of graduation, Chunin promotion, Jonin promotion, entrance to ANBU and then when he left ANBU. The dates presented showed that the man to be his sensei had been in active service for 21 years, 6 of which was black ops. It covered his team mates - Uchiha Obito, Nohara Rin - both deceased and his sensei - Namikaze Minato - also deceased.

It covered missions; 217 D-ranks, 649 C-ranks, 480 B-ranks, 435 A-ranks and no listed S-ranks. Naruto was aware that no ANBU missions were included in the count, so the complete record was more impressive than what he had access to here.

It also listed his specialty - ninjutsu.

Special notes added having the implanted sharingan eye of his previous team mate. It also included that the man valued his team above all else. Risking the mission to keep all of them alive and safe at times.

Bounties from each of the other villages and any moniker he'd been given by them. The largest bounty was from Iwa, the size due in part due to his association with the Yondaime, although that didn't detract or discredit any of his own skills. The bounty Iwa had Kakashi down for was 1.5 billion ryo ($1.5 million AUD) with the name Sharingan no Kakashi.

Finished with his intelligence gathering, Naruto deactivated his seal, removed it and replaced the scroll. Creeping over to the door, the blond stopped and listened in an attempted to determine if it was still clear. Determining that it was, he opened the door - visually confirming his all clear.

Stepping through the blond deactivated the seal, opening the window for a quick exit when his array had finished removing itself from the original seal. Once both were done Naruto deactivated the henge and four seals sticking it to the wall and slipped out the window, shutting it behind him. The whiskered boy then scaled back down the building and went through the back alleys to arrive back at his apartment complex.

It was the work of moments for Naruto to get into his own home, release his hold over his chakra and its suppression, curl up in his bed under a blanket - stolen - and drift to sleep a little before three.

Naruto woke the next morning at five-thirty and begun his day by getting himself a shower. He wouldn't eat breakfast today, but that was primarily because nothing would be open at this time for him to have. It didn't matter; he'd gone longer without food in the past.

Once he cleaned up Naruto went to Training Ground Three as instructed and begun to do some stretches and light exercises - a lap or two around the grounds to begin with. Not wanting to overdo it before a test though, Naruto trained his control, summoning and dissipating tiny solid shields randomly on his body while twirling a senbon around his fingers. This one was poisoned, so he also maintained a coat of chakra between it and his skin. While it wouldn't affect him the blond didn't want it to rub off.

That was how Sakura and Sasuke found him, silently sitting on a post with senbon in hand. The blond nodded to them in acknowledgement but didn't try to start conversation with them. The next three hours were spent in tense silence, none of them moving from where they'd originally sat down.

Kakashi arrived in a swirl of leaves at 0900, and Sakura released some of her tension with a yell of "You're late!"

"Maa, maa, a black cat crossed my path and I had to go the long way around." Kakashi responded lazily with an eye smile. "So this is your test, I have here two bells." Said bells jingled when the man waved them through the air, the three twelve year old watched them for a moment before turning back to their sensei.

"Your task today is to get them from me. Do so and you pass. Anyone who doesn't get a bell will be tied to the post and not get lunch. Also they'll be sent back to the academy."

"But sensei," Sakura interrupted, "there's only two bells and three of us."

"Ah, well that just means one of you gets sent back, doesn't it? So, if you want to be my student you need to get one. If you want a chance, I would suggest you come at me with the intent to kill. You have until this alarm goes off at 1200. Good luck." Kakashi finished this with an eye smile, placed down the clock and pulled out his book.

The trio stared at Kakashi with various levels of incredulity displayed on their faces - Sakura being the most obvious and Naruto's pause the only indication he was thrown off. The blond boy internally shook himself and disappeared, the other two following suit soon after.

Kakashi was a little impressed, if he was honest. The three of them hid well - he couldn't see them anywhere - but Naruto he couldn't sense, he wasn't a sensor but good enough and the blonds signature had simply vanished. Interesting.

Naruto sat in the top of a tree at the edge of the grounds observing his opponent as he thought about what was said. Two bells, three students. Two passes, one failure. Kakashi's file had said the man valued his team mates above all else, and Iruka had emphasised it and the Will of Fire in his graduating speech. A ruse then? To split them up and see if they can come together to complete the mission? Likely, a just graduated Genin would have no hope against a seasoned Jonin, so he wouldn't expect for them to succeed.

The blond sighed internally, breath slipping from between his lips. Might as well tell his sensei he knew the purpose before he came after them, then see if he could get the other two to work with him.

Dropping from the tree Naruto released his seals - in the event Kakashi decided to take first action - before circling around until he was in front of his sensei. He dropped his suppression as he went, and when he was face to face with Kakashi the man looked up. Naruto bought his hands together and used KS, rather than the jutsu seals Kakashi had readied for.

"The purpose of this test is teamwork. I doubt they will work with me but I will try." Before Kakashi could respond to that Naruto used **Kawarimi** to re-enter the forest, suppressing his chakra before he could be located.

The silver haired man blinked at that, decided he'd give the boy another ten minutes before he went after them.

Naruto figured he'd have the best chance with convincing Sasuke to work with him. While he knew the boy was more inclined to solitude he also knew he wanted to pass, and Sakura was too wary of him to listen to anything he said. If she even remembered the little bit of SL they were taught in the academy, Konoha or Elemental version.

It took a bit of searching for the blond to find the other boy but when he did he made sure to make enough noise to get his attention as he moved closer. When he had Sasuke's attention Naruto begun slowly signing what he'd figured out, hoping the ravenette knew enough KS to understand.

"It's a teamwork test. We have to work together. The bells are designed to split us up. Will of Fire. Three man squads. Comrades are most important and all that shit."

Sasuke sneered in response before speaking. "Right, like I'm going to listen to you. I can do it on my own and pass on my own. I don't need either of you two holding me back."

Sasuke then turned back to watching Kakashi, not even bothering to see if Naruto had a response. The blond boy just nodded to himself in confirmation of what he already thought before heading off to find Sakura.

The pinkette was crouched under a bush, and again Naruto made sure to make enough noise to get her attention as he approached. When she looked at him he repeated what he said to Sasuke, deliberate slowness still in his moves. "It's a teamwork test. We have to work together. The bells are designed to split us up. Will of Fire. Three man squads. Comrades are most important and all that shit."

The look on Sakura's face was enough to tell Naruto that she wasn't willing to consider either, and she turned without even responding. Naruto shrugged at the failure, circled round the training ground again to better hide and climbed a tree.

When the ten minutes Kakashi had given them passed he was about to head to the nearest chakra signature - Sakura, when Sasuke burst from the trees and threw a **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu) at him.

Kakashi easily dodged to the side from the slow moving flame, evading the punches the ravenette started throwing when the boy had run closer in the cover of his fire. When Sasuke got close enough to the bells to nearly touch them - a ruse, the silver haired man let him get that close - he swung a leg out in a vicious kick that sent Sasuke half way across the field. A quick application of **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique) and the last Uchiha was neck deep in dirt.

Once his opponent defeated, Kakashi headed back to where he was originally aiming for, walking towards Sakura's signature. A rather basic genjutsu was all that was needed before he snuck up and knocked her out through a hit to a pressure point at the back of her neck. It was a rather pathetic performance, and the silver haired man wondered just how she passed.

His third student was significantly more difficult to find - not being able to locate the blond through his chakra. Fortunately Kakashi knew multiple ways to track someone, an application of chakra to his nose and soon the man had caught the whiskered boy's scent. Despite this, all he managed to do was find the blond, not sneak up on him. In fact, Kakashi had to dodge a barrage of shuriken before he caught sight of Naruto.

Naruto himself had seen what the man had done to his former classmates, and assumed that he was now testing their individual capabilities. Seeing no value in holding back anything he could do, Naruto readied himself for a hard fight.

After the first volley of shuriken was thrown Kakashi was in Naruto's face, having located the blond's position by the direction the weapons had appeared from. He aimed a kick into Naruto's side - slow enough for an academy graduate to dodge in order to see the boy's response. Naruto's reaction was to jump over the leg, grabbing a branch above him to get out of the man's range of attack.

Kakashi joined him on the limb, punching forward and pushing the blond further from the trunk to a thinner platform. Naruto ignored this, simply moving onto yet another tree. The pattern followed for a while, Kakashi going after Naruto in purely taijutsu among the tree branches, gradually increasing the speed of his hits until the blond was barely dodging them. At this point, he threw some kunai as he aimed his next hit, forcing Naruto to either retaliate or take their fight onto the ground.

The blond took the latter option, landing silently and immediately rolling to the side to avoid a dropkick. He purposely set himself against the back of a tree, attempting to lure his sensei into the impression he was out of moves - trapped and unable to keep up with the pace of the battle. This was not true, as he'd stopped increasing his speed at about half his limit, opting to dodge by a finer margin indicating he was moving as fast as he was able. A simple but effective bluff.

When Kakashi lunged into a right handed punch, Naruto dived into a roll directly passed Kakashi's now exposed side at full speed, swiping for the bells where they jingled as the Jonin moved. The silver haired man reacted quickly despite his surprise, opening his fist and directing it further to the left and launching upward slightly with his legs.

The fast manoeuvre prevented the blond from getting the bells, and Kakashi landed on his hands beside the tree and turned his momentum into a roll. When he rose back to his feet he appraised his opponent again, acknowledged the close call on the bells and good tactics that achieved such, before reengaging Naruto.

Knowing the blond's actual speed now Kakashi picked up the pace of the fight, aiming blow after blow at the blond. For his part, Naruto kept dodging, flipping, ducking, stepping and occasionally redirecting every hit that came his way. Acknowledging that he couldn't do this forever the boy quickly begun planning a counter attack.

A strategy was quickly devised, and Naruto immediately implemented the bones of his plan, moving towards a fallen log when he dodged. The dance of punches and dodges continued, Kakashi finding himself slightly impressed by the blonds ability and display of low Jonin speeds. When Kakashi performed a leg sweep Naruto did a backflip over the log behind him with his hands, using chakra to maintain a grip on it as he went over. Releasing one hand, with the other Naruto removed a kunai he's laced with a paralytic and held it in a reverse grip. Flipping around the log on his momentum, Naruto slid under it and struck out at the Jonin's other leg, hoping to get even a scratch to force the man to pause.

That blow was parried with a kunai pulled from somewhere Naruto couldn't identify, and when he came out of his slide they both pulled a second kunai before engaging again. This time Naruto took more shots at his sensei, trying to capitalize whenever he could on any opportunity to make a hit. This ended up being his downfall. When the blond made a swipe at Kakashi's shoulder after dodging a swing at his face, the man landed a vicious kick that came around as a follow up blow, connecting solidly with Naruto's ribs.

Naruto impacted heavily with a tree five meters from where he had been, utilising the **kawarimi** with a o-hitsuji(ram) seal before he even recovered, avoiding Kakashi knocking him out or immobilising him as he had the other two.

Kakashi was left in the forest with an understanding of how the boy had managed to beat his sensei in a spar. The lack of true style was obvious to someone as experienced as he was, but the boy came up with good tactics on the spot. His speed was far above what it should have been, and Kakashi knew that the boy could definitely take on a Chunin in taijutsu alone. Another thing the academy had apparently missed in their assessment of Naruto's skills.

Naruto spent a scant few seconds letting himself recover after the switch before forcing himself up and going to find Sasuke. Defeated or not Sakura was as likely to listen to him now as she was the first time he tried, so he didn't bother waking her before retrieving her crush. While Sasuke grudgingly accepted the help to remove himself from the hole, the ravenette stalked off the moment he was free.

Naruto sighed and shook his head, walking to over to where Sakura was laid out cold. Waking her with a quick burst of chakra he waited a minute to see what she'd do. When the girl simply cast him a nervous look and also left, the blond went to the posts in middle of the grounds and sat on the centre one, reactivating his resistance seals as he did so. A glance showed they had a half hour left for the test and Naruto spent the time trying to conceive a way to remain a Genin when the team inevitably failed.

He came to the conclusion that there was nothing he could do further then he already had - demonstrate his understanding of the test and its goal of teamwork, and show he had the skills to be a part of the ranks. Shrugging internally, he waited silently the last couple of minutes for the alarm to ring, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura joining him over where he sat when it did.

"Well, you all fail." Kakashi stated bluntly, Sakura opened her mouth to protest, beg another chance, something but the silver haired man continued talking.

"I will give you one more chance after lunch, but one of you still needs to be tied to the post, and that person will not be getting any lunch. The two of you left are not allowed to feed them either, and breaking that rule will fail your second chance. So, Naruto," As the boy's name left the Jonin's mouth the man performed a quick **shunshin** , grabbing Naruto's hands before the boy could react and tying them. "You will be tied to the post, and the other two may eat their lunch.

Kakashi rapidly finished tying Naruto up before walking over to where he'd left the bentos, handing one each to the still free children. When they were preoccupied he caught Naruto's eye, and rapidly signed a couple of short sentences.

"This test is for them, since you already understand the purpose of it. I'll bring you lunch when I come back." Naruto nodded at this, coming to the conclusion that the man wanted his age mates to give him food.

"I'll be back in an hour to give you your second chance. Don't feed Naruto; I'll know if you do. Ja ne." Kakashi said to the three with a wave and an eye smile, using a **shunshin** to move into the cover of the trees. Sasuke and Sakura didn't give Naruto any food. The ravenette completely ignoring both his teammates and quickly eating his meal, the pinkette casting nervous glances at the hooded blond but also eating all her own food.

When an hour passed and Kakashi walked back into the clearing, Naruto used his chakra strings to undo the loose knot and stand beside the other two students. Tucking away that piece of information and letting out a silent sigh, Kakashi gave the news to the three.

"You fail. Utterly."

"But sensei, you said we got a second chance. You haven't given it to us yet!" Sakura protested loudly, an agreeing grunt came from the last Uchiha, so Kakashi continued his explanation.

"No, you failed that one to. I have two things to say about being a ninja that I think you should know. First is that you must look underneath the underneath. Second is that those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. Over there is the memorial stone, and on it is written the names of every person who gave their lives in service to this village. To protect us.

"The purpose of the bell test was to work together. The bells were the 'mission objective' in this situation and to achieve that goal you needed to work together. No fresh out of the academy student could take on a Jonin, but a team of three Genin working together efficiently could. Naruto even told both of you of the purpose of the test, and you completely ignored him. He is the only one who deserves to pass and I will see about getting him into a different team.

"The second test you failed at was lunch. I told you there was to be a second chance after eating, and instructed you not to feed your comrade. To pass you had to ignore my orders - the rules - and help him. Team work. Do not abandon your comrades. You failed." Kakashi finished, observing each of their reactions.

Sakura looked about ready to cry, but there was a hint of understanding in her eyes. Sasuke looked about ready to explode with the amount of anger he was radiating, and stalked off with a muttered word about talking to the council. Naruto was mostly impassive, but signed "Arigato gozaimasu" to Kakashi, likely for his promise to find him another team.

When Sakura walked off in a dejected slump two minutes later, Kakashi pulled out a third bento and gave it to the blond. "Be here at 0700 tomorrow and I'll tell you what has been decided regarding your status. Ja ne." With that the man disappeared, and Naruto opened the bento he received to begin his lunch, thinking about what was likely to happen. He'd have to find something tonight from another restaurant to put in the fridge for breakfast tomorrow.

With a sigh Naruto returned to his apartment, planning to read for the hours left until sundown.

Several non-productive hours for Kakashi later and the man was stood with the other Jonin sensei before the Hokage, Umino Iruka and Nara Shikaku - again in his position of Jonin Commander - preparing to give his report. Each of the others cycled through reporting their failure. He waited until everyone else had gone, noting the passing of the teams assigned to Sarutobi Asuma and Yuuhi Kurenai.

Once they'd given their reports on how the teams had passed - Shikamaru apparently figuring out the test and Ino-Shika-Cho pulling though, while both the Inuzuka and Aburame mindsets lent themselves to teamwork - Kakashi began his own report.

"As a whole Team 7 fails. They did not work together at any point during my test. However, I give Uzumaki Naruto a pass." Shocked silence met the silver haired man's words before a murmur of protest rose. Half of them were against passing the 'demon', half for failing the last Uchiha. There were a few that simply protested passing a single student from the team, but Kakashi waited until the Hokage requested an explanation before speaking up.

"Uzumaki almost immediately understood the purpose of the test. Approximately half an hour after its beginning he approached me and flat out stated it. He told me 'The purpose of this test is teamwork. I doubt they will work with me but I will try,' and left presumably to get them to work with him. Evidently they did not, otherwise they would also have passed.

"As is standard with the bell test I searched him out and drew him into a combat situation. Here is where he really excelled. I was forced to track him by scent, as he knows how to suppress his chakra enough to hide it from me - I'm not a sensor type but that is impressive for a Genin. We fought with taijutsu and as reported he had no style - not even the academy one. What he did have though was speed, I'd estimate he was moving at low Jonin speeds. He came up with a couple of good plans to get the bells. Using the environment to his advantage.

"It is these factors that lead me to recommend he be place on a different team rather than being sent back to the academy with the other failed students. He demonstrated the mindset and skills required, Uchiha and Haruno were simply uncooperative." Kakashi concluded his report and reasoning's for his decisions, omitting that Naruto was mute. That was a topic he planned to question about to a smaller audience.

The Hokage grimaced at the report of the team before sighing, already disliking what he was going to have to say but doing so anyway.

"You're going to have to pass the team, Hatake-san." He began. "Failing the test or not Uchiha Sasuke is too valuable as a shinobi to send back to the academy. Another year there will not change his temperament and attitude so that'll be something you as his sensei will have to work on, but he needs to be passed. Haruno Mebuki, Sakura's mother, is on the council and will become incredibly difficult should her daughter fail.

"The woman has a high standing with other members of the civilian council, and while we all know they can't force us to do anything we need them to believe they at least hold some power. Politics. So we need you to take on the whole team Hatake-san, failed your test or not."

When the Hokage finished speaking he looked at Kakashi with hard eyes, indicating that it was an order and the man had to comply no matter his personal opinion. Kakashi simply bowed his head in acquiescence. "Then I request permission to train them as I see fit, Hokage-sama. Breaking Uchiha-san and Haruno-san of their current mindsets will require a fair number of harsh lessons." When the Sandaime agreed Kakashi fell silent and allowed the discussion to move on around him.

Half an hour later and the room was clearing out. Kakashi waited until all that remained was himself, the Hokage and Jonin Commander.

"Hokage-sama, there was one thing about Naruto that I omitted from my report. In the file I was given it claimed that he had not spoken at all during his four years at the academy. I believe that is because he is mute. I'm not sure why it wasn't included in the file Hokage-sama, but he was easily able to communicate with the Konoha Sign Language 1 they were taught in the academy."

Shikaku quirked an eyebrow at that piece of information. "I knew he was mute, not entirely sure how someone can miss such a thing though."

"You knew he was mute, Nara-san?" The Hokage asked curiously, although a little thrown by the revelation in itself.

"Chouza met him when he was applying for the academy, happened to be enrolling Choji at the right time to stop the on duty Chunin from just tossing him out. He said he helped Uzumaki-san with his enrolment after that and from there found out and consequently told Inoichi and myself about his being mute." Shikaku confirmed, giving the bones of the story to the other two in the room.

"I'll have someone look into why the academy didn't report it then. It's troubling that something so obvious could be missed, and it makes me wonder if other areas of education suffered." The Hokage said.

The conversation now over Kakashi left the room. From there the man headed towards the Uchiha district where he knew he'd find Sasuke, writing up a note instructing the boy to be at Training Ground Three at 0700 the next morning. He left the note stuck to the fridge for the boy to find before leaving to repeat the act with Sakura. For her, he left the message on her mirror.

Once done Kakashi headed to his own home to settle for a good night sleep. In the morning, Kakashi would spend a few hours working out as he did every morning, keeping himself in if not top form than high enough for his rank. 

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**And that is chapter four. I hope you enjoy it. Please review guys, literally a couple or words of your opinion go so far to make me feel good about my work.**

 **To address the previous reviews - briefly, as I don't want to give up too much. It has been mentioned to me that the civilian council shouldn't have had the control they do. Yes, I'll agree with that. I will** ** _minorly_** **address that in a later chapter, but it's primarily me not being able to think of a better way to give Naruto this life.**

 **I'm taking liberties on Sasuke's superiority complex - a 7 to 12 year old with the civilian part of the village catering to him, a dead clan that thought they were the shit, and dumb academy ninja who think the sharingan is the best thing and call him a prodigy. At that age, he was going to believe at least some of it.**

 **Naruto's speed and** **ability** **to beat Mizuki - I'm going to point out Kakashi was Jonin at age 13. I said Naruto was low Jonin in speed - kinda bare minimum requirement. He's achieved this after running every damn night for the last 6 years. It is also the primary thing he's trained in that time, getting that speed and being able to use it. He won against Mizuki because the Chunin didn't expect Naruto to be able to dodge, Naruto pretty much out** **manoeuvred.**

 **On the same note, Naruto's fight against Kakashi is similar. Kakashi severely underestimated Naruto's speed and Naruto used that to his advantage. he is not strong at this stage, just know's how to use what he has.**

 **That said, I will take into account what you say - you're the readers so I want to know what you enjoy - and if not change what I've already written either adjust it later as much as possible or justify my decisions. I'm not perfect as a writer - not even close, so constructive criticisms are most definitely appreciated :)**


	5. Reschedule

A/N: I do not own Naruto, or any of the recognisable material. None of this is for profit.

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On his first day officially as sensei of Team 7, Kakashi spent - as was his usual habit - an hour talking to his old team before he went to meet with his new one. By this time, they would have been waiting for him for three hours.

When he got there, he found Sasuke and Sakura doing nothing - ignoring each other and looking irritable. Naruto was doing sit-ups hanging from a branch; and the silver haired man wondered how long he'd been working out for - since he got here? Either way when Kakashi showed up the blond flipped off the limb he was hanging from and jogged over.

"Right, so things have changed." Kakashi began. "Even though two of you failed I'm required to turn you three into a working team. For you this means listening to everything I tell you to do, because while there is talent two of you lack discipline. So, when I show up to training I expect you to line up in front of me to await instruction. To start, you're going to tell me what you're currently capable of and where you want to specialize. After that, I'm going to train you to the ground. So, Sakura, you go first."

"Ano... I have a good memory and high retention rate. Good chakra control and the three academy jutsu. I wasn't really good at anything else and... I don't know what ninja art I would be best at..." Sakura trail off, realising that her skills list was rather short and feeling ashamed for how little she'd achieved.

"Right, I'll run you through a bit of everything see where you've got talent and preference. Sasuke, next." Kakashi commanded. "I was rookie of the year. I'm good at my clan's taijutsu style and know six fire jutsu. Those are my preferences." Sasuke's summary was confidant, and filled with the smugness he felt at being given a pass. The boy felt as if he was entitled to the rank Genin and proper training. Kakashi had plans to break him of that illusion.

"Naruto, you last." Kakashi commanded, looking to what he knew was his most promising student. The boy began rapidly signing - too fast for Sasuke or Sakura to keep up - in Elemental Sign.

"Elemental and Konoha 1 Sign. Speed at high Chunin. No taijutsu style, but favour speed over strength. Some knowledge of poisons. Stealth. Lock-picking. Pickpocketing. Chakra control - extremely high. Chakra suppression. Fuinjutsu. Higher level of general knowledge than provided at the academy. I want stealth and kenjutsu specialisations, with supporting ninjutsu and poisons." When his report was finished Naruto lowered his hands and waited for a response.

Kakashi was again silently impressed with the boys achievement, and a little bit curious why he knew how to pickpocket. Dismissing the thought for later he asked about the fuinjutsu, aware that it was not covered in depth at the academy. "How good would you rate yourself with sealing? Actually, draw me up an explosive tag - general and personalised. I saw the skills you three have yesterday enough to know what I'm working with otherwise."

The three watched as the blond pulled out two pieces of paper, on the first he drew what was clear to Kakashi to be a modified explosive tag, a couple of cells changed around to achieve what appeared to be a hotter blast. On the second Naruto drew his personalisation of the same seal - his handwriting and shortcuts making it specific for him and more effective, compressing it smaller, lines overlapping to use less chakra and have faster activation.

The boy's style made the seal look sharper and less cluttered, having more points than flow in the design. Ten minutes after he begun Naruto wrapped each seal around the handle of a kunai. He tossed each in opposite directions and away from the group, activating them with a spike of chakra. Kakashi felt the heat wash over him from the detonations, and the difference between the strength of them was obvious. The general use one was stronger with the blond's modifications as well, which Kakashi noticed.

Nodding to himself in agreement of the boy's assessment that he did know fuinjutsu, he quickly devised a plan. Naruto would be easy enough, find a style of taijutsu that can be armed or unarmed and have a clone coach him through it. Sakura needed a serious amount of physical conditioning, and he could give her a genjutsu when she wasn't doing that. Sasuke he would also condition, but more to get him to work than any extreme need - he had to get off his high horse before Kakashi would consider teaching him.

That'd be two hours in the morning, lunch and a mission or two if they were short, teamwork drills until 1700. After that, Kakashi would teach them other skills they'd need to know to be effective ninja.

He intended to cover standard team formations - for if they were escorting a client or delivering a parcel, scouting or even the best strategies to face different enemies. He'd teach them strategy, trap making, the importance of information and a couple of methods to get it. Kakashi would have them spar against each other , which Naruto always won and Sakura always lost. He'd go further into hunting and camping, combining it wiith geography and what they would need for different environments.

First though, the man taught them more about Konoha - the chain of command and proper procedures, along with KSL2 - a variant that only required one hand and was more difficult due to many of the signs being similar to others. Whatever he taught, he'd dismiss them at 1900 with instructions to arrive at 0700 the next morning. He could revise in a couple of weeks to see their progress.

So that's how it went, Kakashi drove both Sakura and Sasuke into the ground with physical exercise. When the girl was near collapse he'd have her stop and instead taught her a little genjutsu - two over the two weeks. She was slowly getting the hang of it, improving with each casting. Sasuke he would first have a spar with, trying to prove to the boy just how weak he was. After that he had him doing physical training - laps and push-ups, sit-ups and crunches - until he too was ready to drop.

A talk with Gai and he was given a scroll with the basic kata for the Oruken(Weaving fist) style, which he ran Naruto through for the whole two hours. The boy was always finishing what was likely an exercise regime when the silver haired man arrived.

Kakashi had asked Naruto why he didn't know the academy style about three days after training begun. Naruto had gotten into a stance full of holes, held it long enough for Kakashi to see just how wrong it was before standing straight and signing that's what Mizuki had tried to teach him. Kakashi had reported it to the Hokage.

Lunch was bento they'd each bring with them, after which they'd go to the mission office for a D-rank, the equivalent menial chores. Sakura would whine, Sasuke would have the appearance of someone doing something they considered below them, and Naruto would silently complete the work. The teamwork drills saw Sasuke and Sakura getting faster at understanding the blonds sign, but no matter what Kakashi tried they couldn't work well together - getting in each other's way and not listening to each other.

Sasuke still acted like an entitled brat, Sakura was still wary of Naruto and Naruto himself made no attempt to connect to the others beyond what was required for their tasks.

The blond had also changed the way he lived slightly, adjusting his routine to account for the training schedule his sensei had set up. He'd wake at dawn with the sun, getting dressed and having breakfast before preparing a bento. The night after passing Kakashi's test Naruto had used a henge to buy some groceries - being a ninja he knew he couldn't steal everything anymore, although Aki no Shokuji was still his spot to get dinner. The blond refused to spend money when he had another option.

He would arrive at Training Ground Three at 0700 as instructed, to be joined by his two teammates. They would sit and wait while he put himself through his paces for the next three hours, continuing his usual physical conditioning. Kakashi would arrive at 1000 and the two would work together on his new taijutsu - Oruken was designed for speed and agility, the user would dodge around their opponent and when the opportunity arose, strike. The strikes were to always be aimed at pressure points and vital areas, making every hit count, and it was easy to adjust for the addition of a blade. It was a style his sensei had chosen that would suit the whiskered boy.

They'd then do missions and team exercises Naruto silently considered a disaster - unable to work with people who wouldn't work with him. The lessons after that he found intriguing - eager to expand what knowledge he already had. There was only so much one could learn from books, as hard as he tried.

After being dismissed the boy would grab one of the books he had and head to Takumi's grave. He'd read by the light of his chakra, training his control at the same time. At around 2130 he would make his way to the back of Aki no Shokuji to grab a free dinner. An hour was spent after that just running before Naruto would head to his apartment to shower and sleep, repeating the routine the next day.

Sasuke had similarly adjusted his routine to account for their training, although it wasn't as drastic as Naruto's changes. He'd get up at 0600, shower, dress, have breakfast and make lunch before heading to the training ground to arrive at 0700 as he'd been commanded to. He'd spend the next three hours doing little more than watching Naruto train and nothing else.

Kakashi would arrive and Sasuke would find himself run into the ground with laps, push-ups, sit-ups and other forms of physical exercise. Lunch would afford him enough of a break to pull himself back together before missions. On missions the ravenette would try to take lead, bossing around his teammates as he believed his right. Team drills would continue in the same vein, Sasuke dismissing his teammate's ideas and capabilities as he bullied his way to being in command. Lessons he found boring - he'd have rather be learning practical skills, believing the four years in the academy were sufficient.

Still, he listened and learned, rather than risk Kakashi's anger. Sakura had tried that the first day and, well, Sasuke was capable of learning lessons other people are being taught.

After being dismissed he'd go home and make himself dinner, read through his clan scrolls or walk through the abandoned compound for a couple hours then go to bed.

Sakura's routine changed the least. She'd wake at 0530 instead of 0630 as she used to, have a shower get dressed and spend a large chunk of time making herself what she considered presentable. The girl would then go downstairs to help her mother with their breakfast - low fat as they both agreed she needed to diet if she wanted to maintain her figure. Lunch was similarly prepared, Sakura overly conscious about how great the calorie intake would be from the meal.

The pinkette would arrive at the training ground promptly at 0700 and take a seat next to Sasuke. The next three hours she'd spend either mooning over the ravenette or watching Naruto with a wary eye. The girl found the boy creepy, and the talk Mebuki had given Sakura about how he was a horrible child who always caused problems for the village merchants didn't help. The woman had also said being around him was dangerous, for reasons she refused to explain to her daughter.

Sakura would dread Kakashi's arrival, but dutifully start her conditioning as instructed when he arrived. She had complained about it on the first day and Sakura wasn't likely to forget the talking to her sensei had given her after that. The man had first kicked in the stomach, and she'd heavily impacted a tree leaving her winded. Before she could consider reacting, a kunai came flying at her and lodged in the tree on her left next to her head. Half a second later, another was held to the left of her throat, Kakashi leaning over her menacingly.

"I am here to train ninja - have been ordered to take two students I do not want, who are not ready to be ninja by my standards. Thus, I have been given to do what I must to make this team _work_. Right now, that is getting you up to an acceptable physical standards - I can't allow you to slow missions down because you couldn't keep up. So you will run, and do as I say, or I will break you. I will drop you in the forest of death - the most hostile area I have access to - with nothing but your clothes and leave you there.

"That is the least of what I could do to force you to learn and train. If you want to avoid that, you will listen to me and do as I instruct. Besides that, I am your superior office, and not doing as I say could be considered insubordination. As I said - I don't _want_ to train you, and that would be a perfectly legitimate reason to have you removed from my command. Am I understood?" Kakashi had been leaking ever increasing amounts of killing intent, aiming it at both her and Sasuke to ensure they truly got the message.

"H-Hair, sensei." Sakura stuttered, sufficiently cowed by the man. Moments later, he threw off the entire air he'd built with an eye smile and too cheery instructions. "Good. Then you should get to running. Shoo, off you go." He flippantly waved a hand in her direction, both kunai having mysteriously vanished as he slouched a couple of feet away from the pinkette.

Genjutsu practice was difficult for the girl, as she was not particularly observant - too focused on Sasuke to notice much else - but she gradually learned to fill in her illusions.

Sakura would have lunch with the others, then for missions and team training she'd follow her crush's orders unquestioningly. The pinkette would end her day after dismissal by joining her mother in a small meal before having a long bath. Once she felt sufficiently clean she'd go to bed for the night.

Kakashi silently despaired, nearly two weeks and no progress towards team work meant he'd have to do something drastic. First, he supposed he should find out what kind of lives his students led outside training. Then he'd gather them together and have the four of them live together for a week - the silver haired man contemplated what house to use for that, but dismissed to think about later. After that, he'd see what he had to work with.

Course of action decided, Kakashi went to bed early so he could stalk them tomorrow, tell them the day after and keep them in the same house from Monday through to the Monday after that.

The man woke at 0500 the next morning, got ready for the day with a shower and breakfast before making two shadow clones. Kakashi sent one of each of those to Sasuke and Sakura, heading himself to Naruto's apartment. Getting there was easy, and he found both the front door and window locked. Although it didn't matter, Kakashi only wanted to observe out of view, so he settled into a tree with some binoculars and watched the blond when he got up as he made himself breakfast and lunch.

The silver haired man followed Naruto when he left the building, raising an eyebrow at the use of the window; he continued his observations as the boy got to the training ground and started working out.

The clone tasked with the observation of Sakura arrived just in time to see her groggily get out of bed. The clone waited in his observation point as the girl had a shower and spent entirely too long, in Kakashi's opinion, before the mirror. Did she not realise her perfect grooming wouldn't last through training? The silver haired clone continued to watch as she made breakfast and lunch with her mother, frowning at the portion size.

The clone trailed after Sakura from a fair distance as she made her way to the training ground.

The second clone watched Sasuke go through his morning ritual, showering, eating and making lunch. The clone observed as the boy left for the training ground, nothing of note happening on his watch.

The three Kakashi's met up in the tree line of the training ground while their charges met up in the middle, the two clones dismissing themselves as the original settled down to watch for the next three hours. The man found himself primarily disappointed in what he saw. While he was impressed by the conditioning Naruto put himself through, the other two wasting the time available was disheartening.

When 1000 rolled around Kakashi made himself known to the three, beginning his usual training, mission, training, lessons routine with them. At the end of the day instead of leaving after dismissing them he did a short shunshin back behind the tree line and created two clones for the second time that day. Again he elected to follow Naruto himself as the blond was by far his most interesting student, and assigned each clone to one of the other two.

So Kakashi followed Naruto from the training ground back to the boy's apartment, watching him disable a seal and open the padlock that was holding closed the window. His curiosity was peaked when barely five minutes later the blond came back out, and followed him as he raced across the village. The man was surprised when Naruto eventually stopped at one of the civilian cemeteries and made his way unerringly towards a fairly plain gravestone.

Kakashi looked away as the blond begun to sign, affording the boy at least some privacy for this moment. It was barely ten minutes later when Naruto moved away, but rather than leaving he climbed a nearby tree, lighting his hand with chakra a pulling out a book and senbon. The man watched in confusion as Naruto appeared to tap the needle against his leg - never quite in the same place. It was five minutes later he realised the very faint flash was chakra stopping the senbon, forming and dissipating in order to prevent the thin needle from piercing his skin.

The silver haired man was impressed, aware of the amount of control such an exercise indicated and realised when the boy said one of his skills was chakra control he was understating the ability. Approximately two hours later Naruto got down from the tree, and Kakashi followed him on another run to the village into a back alley.

Kakashi was shocked - to put it lightly - when he observed Akimichi Chouza throwing out the rubbish from what the silver haired man now realized must have been the family restaurant, and Naruto grab the smaller bag from where it had been set. He watched the boy open the bag, remove what must have been a note, write on it and wedge it into the doorframe. The entire event had an air to it that indicated this was a long standing occurrence. The note, the timing, the way the bag Naruto had grabbed was set down rather than carelessly tossed.

Kakashi wondered at what his student's life had been for this to be the case. He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Naruto had finished eating and was now stretching, and took off after his student when the boy started running through the side streets and alleys of the village. Kakashi himself stuck to the rooftops and out of sight, just watching his student until the boy returned home, had a shower and went to sleep.

When he was sure the blond wouldn't be doing anything else before he woke in the morning, Kakashi headed to his own home to meet with his clones so he could join his students in unconsciousness.

The clone following Sakura was a little dismayed when he saw the dinner Mebuki had set out for her daughter. Kakashi knew it wasn't nearly enough intake to support the kind of workout he had her doing, and realised it was one thing he'd need to change in the following week. The clone watched as the pair ate, frowning at the direction of conversation as the girl's mother asked after Sasuke and warned Sakura away from Naruto. The man came to the conclusion she wasn't a good influence on his student in any way, and was a contributing factor to the girl's attitude.

Kakashi then watched as the girl entered the bathroom, listened as she ran herself a bath, presumably soaked in there for an hour before going to bed. Once she'd fallen asleep the clone made his way to his own apartment, where he waited for the original to arrive before he'd dismiss himself. He passed the two hours by enjoying his Icha Icha.

The second clone was tasked with following Sasuke, and he trailed after his black haired student from a distance as the boy walked home after being dismissed. He observed as dinner was prepared and eaten, and waited as the boy had a shower. Kakashi watched as Sasuke sat in what was once Uchiha Fugaku's office and begun looking though scrolls. A half hour later and the obviously frustrated boy left the office and started walking through the empty compound. The silver haired man watched as the last Uchiha kept walking for an hour and a half before the boy returned to his house and settled in to sleep.

The clone went to his own apartment and joined the other clone in reading Icha Icha as the pair waited for the original to return. When Kakashi eventually did, he had the clones dispel, quickly sorted through the memories he received before going to bed. The man would wake early the next morning and go to the cemetery to determine whose grave his student visited.

When Kakashi did so he saw engraved on the stone the name Maki Takumi, the written below it indicated the boy had died six years ago. Naruto would've been six, just days after his birthday. The silver haired man then headed towards the police department, as the records of how the boy died would be there due to his being a civilian.

Kakashi kindly greeted the receptionist and asked for the case file on Maki Takumi. It might've made more sense to check the hospital, but the Jonin felt that the connection to Naruto had led to a violent death. The date was another indicator for that; the 10th of October brings back painful memories for everyone and that's when the civilian population came to its loudest in its hatred for Naruto.

About ten minutes after the lady had left to get the file for him, she returned telling Kakashi that it wasn't where it should've been. The woman's smile, a combination of nervous and wry as she commented on how easy it is to miss-sort these things, left Kakashi disgruntled over finding nothing as he made his way out of the station.

The man proceeded to the memorial, where he updated his old team on the current goings on before going to meet his team. At the end of the day, rather than leaving he gathered the three of them together and begun to talk.

"So, team, I'm honestly a little disappointed in how badly you're able to work as one. Sakura, you need to think for yourself more. Sasuke, you need to take into account what your other teammates are telling you. Naruto, you need to be a little less passive, more insistent that they listen to you. You all have things you can bring to this team if you learn to work with each other." The uncertain nod from Sakura was not encouraging. Sasuke just grunted out what could mean anything, but most likely Kakashi's comments were ignored. Naruto simply gave his sensei a look, fully aware he was not being listened to but unwilling and unable to force them.

Kakashi sighed at the response, but continued with his plan. "It's for this reason that tomorrow, you're going to pack a week's worth of your things, and the four of us are going to live together. It'll only be for a week, but during that time I want you to learn each other. What each of your habits are, what you like to eat and don't like. You'll learn what your teammates like to do in their spare time and all manner of other things.

"Pay attention to each other. I want you three to be able to successfully be each other after the week is up. Understand?" When the man got a chorus of 'Hai' as a response he dismissed them, going to make his own preparations for the week.

Sasuke simply spent half an hour gathering his necessities and dropping them into a bag, spending the rest of the night as he usually did. Sakura similarly packed a bag, with a bit more makeup than the academy would recommend to ensure she'd always look nice for Sasuke, also telling her mother about the exercise so she wouldn't worry. Naruto dropped all his things into a storage scroll he scribbled up, and wrote a note to leave at Aki no Shokuji to not worry about dinner for a week.

The next afternoon, Kakashi led the trio to his sensei's old home. "This was the Yondaime's house - my sensei's - before he died, I believe he would be okay with me using it to help train my team. So go in, pick a room to claim for the week then meet me in the kitchen." The trio of twelve years olds did as instructed, waiting for their sensei's next orders.

"First thing we're going to do is make dinner, then we'll discuss the plan for the week while we eat. We'll make yakisoba." The dish was prepared in a disorganised manner, each of the Genin unsure what had been done by the others and generally getting in the way. Still, forty minutes later food was on the table and the team sat down to eat.

"So as I said this week we're living together. First thing I'm going to address is chores. You need to keep the house clean. Figure amongst yourselves who gets the shower when, as there's only one for you to use. You'll also take turns cooking, preparing a meal a day each and work together to do the dishes. Sakura, I want you to do breakfast tomorrow, Sasuke lunch and Naruto can make dinner. Rotate after that, Sasuke doing breakfast for Wednesday and continue in that vein for the whole week.

"Sakura, you need to stop your diet. You burn more calories training then you're eating at the moment and all that's doing is making you weak. You'll eat normal portions for this week, and at the end you'll realise you're not half as tired as you have been. After that it's up to you to adjust your diet appropriately. Other than that, I'll ease up on the training this week as well. We'll finish at five and can use the remaining two hours getting to know each other better. Understood?"

"Hai sensei." Was the response, although there was an uncertainty to it that indicated neither Sasuke nor Sakura were pleased. Naruto simply nodded, and Kakashi was beginning to wonder if anything truly fazed the boy.

"I am here if any of you need to talk about anything, I can be more to you then just your sensei." The comment was acknowledged by the three, but the man saw no indication that his offer would be accepted.

After dishes were completed the four split. Kakashi sat on the couch with his favourite orange book, Sakura went for a bath, Sasuke debated a little - not able to walk aimlessly or go through clan scrolls - before pulling out a history book. Naruto signalled for Kakashi's attention before signing to him.

"I usually go out for the next five hours. Would you prefer me to remain in house for the purpose of the exercise?"

"If you wish to go out do so, but I'd prefer you stayed yes." He responded quietly, trying not to break the peaceful atmosphere of the room too much.

Naruto deliberated over his options a bit, considering what he'd usually do and how to fit it in this week. "I could go out for the last two hours or so, then both Sasuke and Sakura are likely to be asleep and there'll be no loss without my presence. Is that acceptable?"

"That sounds fine Naruto. You're entitled to your freedom." Kakashi gave his student a nod of permission and returned to reading. Naruto himself pulled out a book and senbon - paralytic, a precaution if someone else grabs it off of him since he's not alone - reading and twirling the needle between his fingers. The occasional poke was directed at wherever was convenient, and a subsequent shield formed and dissipated.

Half an hour later Sakura came out of the bathroom, having shortened her bath time while among her teammates. She gave Naruto as odd look, curious but not wanting to ask what he was doing with what appeared to be an obviously blunt senbon. She took Sasuke's seat on the couch with her own book as the boy went to have his own shower.

Silence reigned for another two hours, Sasuke re-joining them in that time, before Naruto stood and stretched, sealing his book into the flap of his weapons pouch. He thought storage seals were incredibly convenient and shouldn't be limited to scrolls, even if inking them on as he'd done with his resistance seals was expensive and tedious - having to ensure he left enough space so he could also apply an anti-damage seal to prevent any accidents.

"I'll be back in two, Sensei. Goodnight, Sasuke, Sakura." Kakashi waved a hand in his general direction for acknowledgment, and the others nodded and repeated the sentiment.

Once the blond had left, Sakura voiced her curiosity. "Where's he going at this time of night for two hours Sensei? He won't be back until nearly midnight."

"I'm not sure, Sakura," The silver haired man lied. "You'll have to ask him that yourself." Sakura nodded in acknowledgement before standing up herself. "I'm going to go to sleep, it's already later than I usually do. Night Kakashi-Sensei. Goodnight Sasuke-kun." The pinkette said as she walked of. Kakashi returned the sentiment with a "Night." While Sasuke made a noncommittal grunt.

Sasuke followed her example and went to bed a half hour later, and Kakashi was left alone while waiting for his third student's return. He paused in his reading, staring blankly at his book as he thought of each of his students. The lives that they've lived.

Sakura - easily the most normal and adjusted; with a mother who has her convinced she has to diet, marry Sasuke and hate Naruto. Kakashi was fairly sure the woman has made his student believe the ninja life is a lot more glamorous than it truly is.

Sasuke - the Last Uchiha; went from Clan Heir to sole survivor. Saw the results of his brother's work when he was seven, and half the village treats him like a beloved prince. It's only fuelling his sense of superiority, and while he's suffered he hasn't had to work for what he has.

Naruto - The village pariah, hated by everyone. Knows how to pickpocket and lock pick, and was sabotaged at least a little in the academy. Kakashi realises that the boy probably never had anyone, except perhaps whoever Maki Takumi was. Has presumably worked for everything he has.

And himself.

Kakashi knew he wasn't the best individual, probably the worst choice on a psychological level for what this team needed. The silver haired man found it difficult to let people in at all and that's what he'd have to do to bring Team Seven together. The man considered that maybe that was precisely why he was given this team. He'd only stopped the suicide missions because he was booted from ANBU. For doing back to back suicide missions with a general disregard for human limits and his own safety and well being so there might've been a point - an unstable ninja is a dead ninja and of no use to the village. The Sandaime might've been forcing Kakashi to make connections.

Naruto arrived back just after midnight, giving an acknowledging wave to his sensei as he made his way for the shower. The boy dropped into bed immediately after, and Kakashi took himself to bed as well.

The next morning Sakura woke first, having a shower and making herself presentable before she went to make breakfast as she'd been instructed. She considered what Kakashi said about her diet, and remembering the talk she got when she complained about training the pinkette begun making a normal meal for the four.

She disagreed with what Kakashi had said, but Sakura knew she couldn't disobey what the man had commanded, especially while living in the same house as him. Breakfast was a silent affair, Kakashi happy being quiet, Naruto being mute, Sakura nervous and Sasuke broody.

When the three students had washed the dishes and were preparing to leave, Naruto turned to Kakashi and signed him a question. "Are you going to walk with us Sensei?" Kakashi considered the question, he had been planning on disappearing on their walk to talk to his sensei, but the man thought that he could do that some other time, and walked with them this once.

The man knew he should connect more to his students than he has, and this'd be a good step.

"I think I'll walk with you, see what you do while you're waiting for me in the mornings." He commented, although he already knew the answer to his query. Sakura looked to the side in guilt, and Sasuke grunted quietly.

When they arrived, Naruto immediately began his stretches for his exercise regime, going directly into what he would usually do without care for Kakashi's presence.

Sakura nervously walked over to Kakashi, aware that she had been wasting these three hours and feeling ashamed of that fact. "Kakashi-sensei, was there anything you wanted me to do or should I start the conditioning?" Kakashi considered the girl, and thought for a moment on what he could use the extra time for. "Start your conditioning, I'll have something for you to do once you've finished. Sasuke, you start too if you weren't going to do anything."

Sakura started off on her run and while Sasuke grunted at his sensei's instructions, annoyed at having to begin so early. The boy hadn't yet realised that he would need to work harder for the strength he wants, too used to being given everything without any effort on his part.

When all three of his students were doing something Kakashi pulled out his book and begun reading, keeping the twelve year olds in his peripherals. When Sasuke and Sakura had both exhausted themselves physically he called them over.

"Sasuke, Sakura, instead of what I'd usually teach you today I'm going to teach you tree climbing." The statement was met with dubious looks, as both thought themselves perfectly capable of climbing a tree. "Like this." The Genins looks rapidly changed to looks of amazement as the Jonin seemingly ignored gravity and walked up the side of the tree and onto the underside of a branch.

"This is done through a controlled output of chakra from the feet allowing you to stick to the tree. Take out a kunai and mark your progress up, some find it easier to get a running start when beginning. Good luck." Kakashi gave them an eye smiled as he dropped out of the tree, watching as the two began towards a tree each.

The man was only slightly surprised when Sakura, after only a couple of failures stopped, put one foot on the tree and tested chakra amounts until it stuck. That done, she demonstrated her ability with the exercise by simply walking up the tree and copying his feat of flipping from the bottom of the branch. A bit reckless, but it got the job done.

"Kakashi-sensei," the pinkette begun as she walked over to the man. "Does Naruto know how to do this?" Kakashi was slightly surprised about the concern the girl showed for her teammate, considering she hadn't shown any before, but promptly answered her. "I would assume so, Sakura. I've seen him doing other exercises requiring more control than that, so it's logical that he already knows this one."

"Would you teach me that exercise then, Sensei?" Kakashi nodded in answer before explaining. "Better chakra control will help with your genjutsu, so I don't see the harm." The man bent down to pick up a leaf, handing to Sakura. "Stick that to your forehead and hold it there, when you can do that, walk up the tree and grab another leaf. If you maintain the one you have while walking, stick the new leaf somewhere else on your body. Keep adding leaves when holding the ones you have becomes automatic."

Sakura took the leaf from her sensei and held it to her forehead, the moment she let go it immediately shot off. Picking it up she held it again, getting the same result. After a few more failed attempts the pinkette realised the task was harder than it sounded and sat at the base of the tree concentrating on the leaf.

Sasuke spent the rest of the morning trying to master the tree climbing exercise, and Kakashi worked with Naruto on the blond's taijutsu at the same time they normally would. The team ate the lunch Sasuke made at the usual time, completed a mission and ran through team drills. The drills went as well as they always did, and while Naruto made more effort with suggestions he couldn't force his team to listen to him, them having to look at him and read his sign.

Kakashi left off the extra lessons for the day - and would or the entire week. Instead, the team finished at 1700 as Kakashi said they would, and returned to the Namikaze estate. They spent two hours doing their individual activities, which equated to all of them quietly reading in the lounge. Dinner was prepared by Naruto and the team ate in a slightly stilted silence. After dishes were done the four went back to reading, and Naruto left for his run as the other two went to bed as he did the previous night.

Wednesday training went similarly, Sakura managing to hold five leaves and Sasuke completing the tree climbing exercise, at which point Kakashi had them start on water walking. Missions and team drills went as was normal for them, and 1700 saw them again returning to their temporary home.

Instead of reading as he had previous two afternoons, Naruto explored the house. Namikaze Minato was said to be a fuinjutsu prodigy, and while he was here the blond thought he'd see if the man had any books he could read on the subject.

Naruto did find books - in the study across the hall from the room he'd taken were two shelves of them against the left wall. When the boy cracked a clearly used volume open, he saw notes and annotations scribbled into the margins, and held onto that book to read. Naruto was interested in what kind of improvements the man could've made to premade cells or arrays.

He kept looking through the room though, searching the books for any other ones he might find useful and informative when he'd finished with the current one. While doing so he came across a photograph, in it was a red-headed woman, a blond haired man and what looked like a younger Kakashi. Naruto assumed the blond was the Yondaime, his sensei in the picture due to being previous Hokage's own student, and the woman perhaps the man's wife or girlfriend.

Naruto was rather startled to note that his colouring was nearly the same as the male Namikaze's, only their skin being different tones. The blond had stopped wondering who his parents were long ago, Takumi filling the hole in him that not knowing had left. He'd realised that whoever they were was of no consequence to him now, and hadn't thought on the matter for years.

Those questions were rising to the surface now though, as his eyes picked out more similarities between himself and the adults in the photo.

"Namikaze couldn't ask any other parent to sacrifice their child when he had his own, Hokage are all the same in that respect - selfless. It was your birth that weakened the seal on your mother, and an Uchiha who ripped it apart and forced me to attack." The Kyuubi's voice reverberated through the blonds mind, confirming what he was already piecing together and expanding.

Naruto sunk to the floor where he stood, pulling out a senbon to occupy his hands as he fell into his thoughts. It hadn't mattered, still didn't, shouldn't, but despite that he felt a maelstrom of emotions that came from the revelation. His fingers twitched and he had the urge to go pickpocketing, or break into a shop to steal something.

Whenever a situation had come up in the past it was typically solved through thievery. No money, no food, no information, being sabotaged, uncertain of his new sensei or needing more supplies. When Takumi died he'd coped by stealing books to read, trying to do his brother proud and full fill his promise, learning as much as he could. He'd had a good few emotional breakdowns also, but using the skills the older boy had taught him had been a good way to relieve the grief, with the bonus helping with survival.

All the boy's problems up to this point had been solved through stealing, directly or indirectly, and it was his go to when something was wrong. He was a ninja now, and satisfying that urge was a lot more risky now that the punishment would be more severe. His twitching fingers would not stop though, so he quickly devised a plan to hopefully help, to lessen what he felt.

He wrote a note on a piece of paper, sticking it to the image and put them both in his pocket. The book was temporarily sealed - he'd read it when he felt more balanced - and the boy waited and listened. When he heard Kakashi's soft footfalls, the man likely going to the toilet, he stepped from the room. A deft and practiced hand slid into the silver haired man's back pouch, switching out the Icha Icha book with the photo.

The man was his sensei, but he'd also kept his parentage from him - and though he understood why with his father's enemies, it still stung - and like with Mizuki that required at least a little retribution. He could also return the book, so due to it being an act of thievery it satisfied the urge of the kleptomaniac but also meant he wouldn't get in trouble. Naruto was still surprised the Jonin didn't notice though, as he hadn't believed he was quite good enough to pull off the act. Either way, he took the book, sat on the couch and begun reading, mildly curious as to why his sensei thought it so good.

The blond found himself disliking the book, the perverse novel having little plot to it beyond who was screwing who, with vivid description of the acts. Although, he only completed a couple of chapters before Kakashi wandered back into the room, and Naruto paused in his reading to silently observe the man. He kept his head down though, not wanting to tip his sensei off about anything being wrong.

Kakashi retook his seat on the armchair in the corner of his room. His students were silent as they each read their books, and he put his hand into his pouch so he could retrieve his own. When he should have felt the hard cover and pages though, the man's hand instead came in contact with a single sheet. Confusion rippled through Kakashi's mind and he pulled out the page, finding himself looking at a photo of himself, his sensei and the man's wife, Uzumaki Kushina. Blinking at the picture he noticed there was something stuck to the back and flipped it over.

Kakashi read the note, understanding slowly dawning, worry and confusion mixing with it. His blond student had written a single sentence. "He sacrificed not just his own life but his sons as well, the day he sealed the Kyuubi." He could see how the blond figured out his parents from the picture - the resemblance between the two uncanny - but not how Naruto could've know about the Kyuubi.

Looking at his student, Kakashi saw the boy sitting casually with a book, reading silently with a senbon twirling through his fingers. A closer look and the silver haired man saw that Naruto was reading Icha Icha Paradise. The copy that should've been in his back pouch. The boy had said he was a pickpocket, and that level of skill was an impressive thing.

Although, Kakashi had trouble understanding just why his student had switched the photo and book. There were simpler ways to tell him he knew about his parents and the fox. "I can tell you about them, if you want." He quietly offered, holding his hand out for his book back.

Naruto returned it, signing his response once his hands were free. "The books shit." He began bluntly, surprising Kakashi with the unrelated statement. "And I don't really want to know about them that much. They're unimportant to me now and knowing won't change how things are." The statement serving the blond a dual purpose of reminding himself of that, an attempt to level out his emotions.

"The offers there." Kakashi considered asking the blond how he knew about the fox, but Sasuke had looked up in curiosity at the vague conversation so he let it drop. When Naruto went for his run that night he visited Takumi's grave, signing to his brother how he felt about the revelation of his parents. Getting his feeling off his chest and into the air helped immensely.

He sorted how he felt out, his emotions for what his father did. Betrayal for being the cause of his harsh life. Understanding for why the man did it. Relief at knowing who they were - that they hadn't abandoned him and just given him up for the sealing. Respect for the man's sacrifice. Anger. Acceptance. Grief. Pain. Admiration.

Above all else though the blond felt loneliness. The only person he had ever had was Takumi. His Aniki had been there for him. For a year Naruto had known what it was like to not be alone and it had been taken from him. Kakashi-sensei was trying, wanting to be let in but the blond didn't know how anymore. Didn't want to give anyone the ability to hurt him either.

Calmed, and determined to not let the man in further then he already had Naruto stretched for his run. Things weren't important. People weren't important. There was only Naruto, his skills, and his promise to Takumi.

It wasn't true, and in the back of his mind Naruto knew that. Knew Kakashi was already too close, even Akimichi-san was too close. One had given him food without reason, had helped him get into the academy, and the other had spent time and energy to teach him what the academy wouldn't. Naruto didn't want those connections. Hadn't tried harder to make friends in the academy for that reason. His odd relation with the Kyuubi was barely acceptable, and only because Naruto knew the demon couldn't leave him.

Takumi's eyes would always haunt him, glazed and staring across from him. Screams ringing in his ears as the men laughed and cursed him demon. Other people couldn't matter to him. Naruto didn't know if he'd be able to fix himself if it happened again.

He started running, the morose thoughts driving him into action, trying to outrun them and to better memories of his brother as he had done in the past. His fingers still twitched, still wanted to solve the problem by pilfering one thing or another but his heart ached and there was nothing for that so he ran.

When he got back, again only Kakashi was still awake and Naruto went for the shower before settling into bed. The house was dark before Naruto finally managed to drift off to a troubled sleep.

* * *

 **I apologise for the delay with releasing this chapter. I recently started a job (Yay) and that has left me rather tired. I was not designed to wake up at 5-fucking-30. So, tired, and then it wasn't letting me upload the chapter correctly and I really just couldn't be bothered with fighting with the website so just let it sit for the weekend.**

 **But it's done now, out and release and I hope you guys enjoy. Read and review and all that. Thank you and I love all you readers.**


	6. Histories

A/N: I do not own Naruto, or any of the recognisable material. None of this is for profit.

* * *

When they started heading for the training ground together Naruto again found himself with twitchy fingers. Last night had helped but his annoyance with his sensei hadn't dissipated, and he was a kleptomaniac - it was barley controllable as it was. When the silver haired man stopped to talk to another shinobi - Naruto didn't recognise him, but he was tall with dark eyes and dark hair pulled back in a short, spiky tail - the blond really couldn't resist.

He had no use for the book, but it was the only thing worth stealing from his sensei. The man's weapons were all standard and Naruto felt he had enough, or in the case of seals could make his own. Thus, again the book was taken.

Reverse pickpocketing wasn't a skill he had practiced often. The photo the previous night one of the few occasions. He walked over to his two teammates, who were stood over the other side of Kakashi a few steps ahead of where they'd stopped. They gave him odd looks as he joined them.

The other Jonin had the book.

When the conversation was over - from what Naruto caught it'd been a casual update on their training, nothing worth listening to if it was shared in the open - the group of four moved on. None of the Genin noticed when Kakashi disappeared on their way to the grounds. When they got there Naruto shrugged and began his routine, Sakura and Sasuke reluctantly following suit even without their sensei to tell them.

Kakashi arrived three hours later to see his team training. Naruto was curious about what he did in those hours, as it wasn't reading as he'd theorised, and his excuses of black cats and old ladies were so obvious it was clear the man wasn't even trying. Either way, the boy was in his usual state of finishing what Kakashi knew to be an intense physical regime while Sakura was sweaty with 8 leaves total visible on her arms. The girl was no longer perfectly presentable so the team's Sensei assumed she'd already done her workout. Sasuke was still trying to walk on water, and Kakashi could see the boy was only an hour or two off completing the task. Content to allow them to continue as they were he reached into his pack to pull out his book.

It wasn't there. Kakashi distinctly remembered having it in there, reading it as he walked with his team. He wasn't called a genius for nothing, and there were very few possibilities for what could've happened anyway. "Naruto," the silver haired man called out.

"Hai, Sensei?" The boy flipped of the branch then signed as he jogged over to him, appearing the same as he always did to the Jonin. "Would you be able to hand me back my book?"

"I don't have it, Sensei." There was a touch of pride in the boy's eye though that Kakashi didn't miss, although no sign he'd told a lie.

"Would you be able to tell me where it is then?" He asked the second question. He wasn't as annoyed as one would think over the loss, it was a fairly cheap book and easily replaced, and while Kakashi loved it reading it as he did was as much for image and perception as actual enjoyment. The man also had a spare copy in his apartment.

"I do not know." The signed words were still the truth and Kakashi could see that, so that meant...

"It's moving. Who with or where did you leave it for it to move, Naruto?" The man asked, increasingly amused at what his student had done. Increasingly curious as to why as well.

"I gave it to that Jonin you were talking with, Sensei." He signed, still proud that neither had noticed what he had done.

"You gave it to Nara-san?"

"Hai." Naruto responded.

"Were you aware he's the Jonin Commander of the Konoha forces?" Kakashi asked, well aware that such information was usually restricted to higher ranks.

"The position was mentioned in the academy but further research did not provide information on the identity of who was in the role, only past Commanders." Naruto shared what little he knew, although was a little stunned on the inside that he'd managed what he had on someone who would've had to be very perceptive.

"Now I am going to retrieve the item you took, and will return in time for lunch and missions. You know your kata well enough to practice it on your own at this point. Ja ne." With a wave and eye smile Kakashi disappeared from Training Ground Three in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke and Sakura were confused about the smirk that settled itself onto Naruto's face, neither having listened to the conversation between their teammate and sensei.

It took Kakashi a surprisingly long time to find the Jonin Commander. He'd first checked the man's office, then headed to T&I where he was known to exchange and scrutinize information with Inoichi and Ibiki. A couple of stops at the villagers other admin buildings and Kakashi decided to try the man's office again, chances were high he'd simply missed him and he'd returned while the silver haired man was looking elsewhere.

Kakashi was right and Shikaku was in his office when he arrived the second time in 30 minutes.

"Hatake-san," the Commander begun when he saw who'd entered his office, unable to think of a reason for the man's presence when they'd talked just under four hours ago. "How can I help you?"

"Well, I've been informed by my student he gave you my book, and I was hoping I could get it back." Kakashi was honestly feeling rather sheepish about the situation, searching for his Commander to get his book one of his Genin had taken off of him.

"He didn't, so far as I'm aware." Shikaku responded, one eyebrow raised at the silver haired man in front of him. Kakashi gave a one shouldered shrug. "I didn't know he took it. I'd suggest checking your back pouch, he walked behind you while we were talking."

Shikaku still had his eyebrow raise, sceptical of the man's claims but did as asked. He blinked twice in disbelief when he did produce the book he'd been asked for from his back pouch. The Nara dutifully handed it over and looked inquiringly at Kakashi.

The man had no real answers, but shared what little information he knew. "He did the same last night too, switched out the book with a picture of Sensei, Kushina and myself. Only reason I knew it was him who took it today."

"Try to keep it from developing into a habit if you can. It wouldn't be good for him as a shinobi to get caught, and some of the information people are carrying around is sensitive." Shikaku commanded, although he wasn't too worried for what the kid might find. Truly sensitive information was rarely moved, or was moved fast enough that he'd be truly impressed if it was grabbed. A stationary target was one thing, but running at ninja speeds over rooftops? The Nara figured that'd be exceedingly difficult to do without notice.

Kakashi nodded in recognition of the order and left the office, walking back to the grounds where he'd left his team. He stopped them for an early lunch when he got there, noticing as he did Sakura had advanced to 10 leaves, two on the sides of her neck. Sasuke had sat down near her with a single leaf on his forehead, and Naruto was still going through kata. Sakura maintained the leaves while she ate, so he asked her to demonstrate tree walking for him after their meal.

He informed her she could practice the exercise in her own time, even maintain it while doing other activities but that that was a high enough level of chakra control for a Genin. Kakashi did inform them they'd practice water walking again tomorrow though, before going back to their regular training. Sasuke gave a displeased grunt at that, unsatisfied in what little he'd achieved while under the Jonin.

Kakashi intended to have the team complete two missions before returning to the grounds for teamwork drills. Unfortunately, plans don't always work out.

The last mission the team had done had been straining, having to rely on each other to get the job done more than was usual. They'd been tasked with moving some trees the owner of a farm had cut down; wanting to expand the land he had available for crop production. The group of three was barely cohesive enough to complete the job, as Sasuke kept trying to order his teammates and Sakura was convinced Sasuke had the best idea and refused to listen to Naruto's suggestions.

That was helped along by the fact that ignoring Naruto was as easy as looking the other direction. The blond was quickly getting frustrated with his teammates, and when the pinkette didn't turn around when he hit his log to get her attention - in order to ask her to move, as she was standing in front of where he needed to leave it - he simply set it down behind her to get another. Naruto had patience, but everyone had a limit for how much they'll put up with, and they weren't even trying to be a team. To work with him.

Naruto was half way back to the trees he needed to move when Sakura turned around and started walking. She tripped, and her own temper snapped, the aggression the blond had only seen directed at Yamanaka Ino being turned on him.

"Naruto! The hell do you think you're doing leaving this behind like this!" She yelled at him, wariness of him overridden by anger.

"I tried to get you to move." The boy calmly replied once he'd turned around to face his teammate.

"No! You didn't tell me anything at all, let alone to move. I didn't even hear you speak, so clearly you weren't trying very hard!" The pinkette didn't think about what she was saying, who she was saying it to, just letting out her emotions on the boy.

Naruto's eyes went cold. He looked at her and the girl froze under that gaze. Kakashi had looked up when the commotion started, and Sasuke walked over in interest when he saw the situation.

"You're right. I didn't speak. I haven't said a fucking word to anyone in 6 years and I'm certainly not going to say any to you. You, who are weak. Who does not try. Who knows fucking nothing beyond the world that wasn't in your books, learnt in the damn classroom or in a warm bed. Either you or Sasuke, who don't know what it's like to have absolutely nothing. To have to work your ass off at every fucking thing to get half of what everyone else gets. Fuck off with telling me I wasn't trying. You refuse to listen to a damn thing I say. You know nothing about me."

Sasuke and Sakura were stunned, the blond had signed slowly just to make sure they got everything. Sakura went pale, realising what she'd said had definitely been the wrong thing for this reaction, and a little scared. Her mother had always told the girl her teammate was dangerous, but she'd never truly seen what she meant until now. She'd known the boy was strong - training with him had shown her at least that much - but these cold eyes had a different kind of strength. A steel behind them that scared her.

Sasuke's emotions veered in the opposite direction, and he quickly got angry, ignoring the part of him that saw danger in the blond's eyes. "I don't know what it's like to have nothing?!" He yelled angrily. "My brother murdered my entire clan, I saw him standing over my parents corpses! I know more about nothing then you could hope to!"

Naruto blinked once at that and bought his hands together to sign once more. "If that's the case, it's only because you've had more to lose." He turned away from them towards their sensei, dismissing his teammates entirely. "Gomennasai Sensei, but I need to leave. Cut my pay of this mission I don't care, but I need to leave. I'll be back at the estate by the usual time at the latest." Naruto could feel his own chakra rushing just under his skin, fast and sharp in preparation for attack. To run or fight as it had always been. But there was anger too, and that anger came up bubbling and thick and literally red and Naruto felt he could lose himself in it.

After a nod from his sensei Naruto left, knowing if he stayed the anger would win out. Kakashi was left wondering how he could possibly pull this team together.

He cast his gaze to his two remaining students, waiting to see if either of them would say something. Sasuke huffed and started to turn around, heading back to his job when Sakura broke the silence.

"Sensei, what... what did he mean by that? By any of what he said?" Sasuke paused, curiosity peaked, as Kakashi thought how best to answer.

"Well, first you need to understand that it's not really mine to tell, so you get the bones of it and anything further you ask Naruto yourself. Even then, I know very little about Naruto as he's rather effectively avoided people barring the academy and now team training. He's an orphan, so he has no family, likely doesn't even know who they were. That means, Sasuke, he would've left the orphanage somewhere between ages 8 and 12 with nothing but the clothes on his back and an orphans stipend.

"He's worked his ass off to get where he is now, with no help. Sasuke, you had your clan scrolls to teach you. Sakura, you had at least your friends in the academy and your mother to support you. I think he's well within his right to have reacted as he did. I would've at his age, earlier even, with the way the two of you treat him." The man sighed heavily, hoping that maybe that little bit would actually start to build something. He doubted it, but one needed hope.

"Complete the mission, we'll head home after you're done and I'll try find our last member after that." The next hour was spent in a stilted silence, both members thinking of what had been said. When it was finished, as Kakashi had said the three collected mission payments and returned to the estate, the silver haired man grabbing the picture Naruto had found before he left to find the boy. Considering his own habits, he had a fair idea where he'd be as it was.

"You followed me." Naruto said the moment his sensei appeared in the tree next to him, not looking away from the grave of his Aniki.

"No I didn't, I stayed and completed the mission with the other two, or I would've been here sooner." Kakashi calmly responded, looking over at his charge.

"Then you followed me some other night, considering you're not a sensor and my chakra's suppressed. This isn't the typical place to look for your Genin, Sensei." The blond returned.

"True, I followed all three of you one day. I wanted to know the kind of lives you lived, to see how best to bring you together." The silver haired man figured honesty was the best response, he had to prove he'd listen before the boy would trust him enough to talk.

"All day?"

"All day." The sensei confirmed.

They sat in silence beside each other for another fifteen minutes before Kakashi broke it, asking what he knew would be a painful question. "Will you tell me what happened to him? Who he was?"

Naruto responded to this with a glance at his sensei and a question of his own. "Will you tell me who gave you that eye? Why they did so?"

Kakashi chuckled slightly at the question, although there was no humour in it and a twist in his chest at the thought of Obito. "Straight to the hard questions, is it. Ne, Naruto?"

The boy shrugged. "The one you asked me wasn't particularly easy either, Sensei. I guess you didn't find anything on him."

"Nothing, the receptionist at the police department said the file had likely been misplaced." The sceptical look he received at that was enough to confirm for Kakashi that it was nothing half so innocent. He sighed heavily, and began.

"Uchiha Obito was my teammate, along with Nohara Rin under your father. I was thirteen at the time, had recently been promoted to Jonin in rank and we were tasked with destroying the Kannabi bridge. It was the Third Shinobi war, and the move was meant to weaken Iwa by preventing them getting supplies across.

"Sensei had been fighting on the front lines at the time, so I was left in charge of the mission. Rin was kidnapped, but I determined the mission objective to be more important than going back and saving her. Obito disagreed and left, claiming to rescue her himself. He told me that line, 'those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse then trash.' I went on to complete the mission but eventually changed - realised he was right, and went after him.

"He was fighting two Iwa nin at the time and I got there in time to save his life, though my eye was severely damaged in the process. We fought together and won, reaching the cave Rin was being kept in quickly after that. It started to collapse though." Kakashi kept going with his story, trying to push down the guilt for what happened as he shared it with his student, keep the waver out of his voice.

"He saved me, pushed me out of the way of the rocks I couldn't see on my now blind side. He was trapped underneath and injured bad enough he wouldn't survive even if we could get him out. His dying wish was for Rin to transplant his eye, replace my damaged one." Kakashi finished his story and the two spent the next few minutes in silence, the silver haired man pulling his emotions back under control while Naruto tried to lock his out.

The blond had never told anyone before, and it'd be digging up old wounds. His eyes were dead when he began, but Kakashi understood why, the need for it.

"I was five when they kicked me out of the orphanage, and spent a month teaching myself how to hide from villagers and getting scraps from bins. I saw Takumi pickpocketing, although I didn't know that's what he'd been doing, just that he was walking through the crowd. He was obviously from the street - scruffy and dirty all over - and I wondered why he would put himself near people who sneered at him as these did.

"I asked him, and he told me. Pickpocketing. Stealing. I asked him to teach me, he could have what I made in exchange and he'd help with food. It was good, we managed. Stole enough in a few months to rent an apartment. By the time October 10th came around we were practically brothers. I'd gone out to get food, and came back to take a bat over the back of the head.

"Demons don't have family. They forced me to watch what they did. They killed him by stabbing him in the throat, just to silence his screams." Naruto paused and dropped his left hand, moulding his chakra with his right in a half ram sign as he turned to his sensei. His eyes focused on Kakashi, losing the dead look to them as he gazed at the mans lone eye. Kakashi was startled by the amount of pain and loneliness he saw there, and wondered how he missed it.

"They stabbed me too." Naruto spoke, lifting both hands to remove his hitai-ate from around his neck, revealing thick scar tissue beneath that made it very obvious what the boy had meant. "It was the only thing the Kyuubi couldn't heal fully, having to do it too fast before I choked on my own blood."

Kakashi wondered at how much his student had been through, what he had lost to make him who he was. His ability to accept anything and keep going made more sense now, to accept any obstacle and face it. How many times has he been kicked down, and just gotten back up. He decided to leave that conversation for now, allow his student to pull himself together some more.

"That's why you have such good chakra control." Kakashi said instead. "You tried to create yourself vocal chords."

"It didn't quite work though, not that I really need my voice. Can't change tone or pitch at all and it ends up sounding creepier than my absolute silence is. On top of that, it takes a large amount of effort and concentration to maintain. It's just not worth it." Naruto responded. Kakashi understood what the boy meant, he was a Jonin so it didn't bother him so much, but to even his other two Genin the sound would be unsettling. Haruno Mebuki had already served to make it worse for Sakura, with her attitude against Naruto.

The voice the boy managed to make sounded like sparking wires, a low buzzing, zapping sound that could barely be moulded into words. Kakashi assumed it was a difficulty in getting the strings to vibrate fast enough to create a more constant noise. Even then the inability to change anything about it would be severely off putting to many people.

"How would you make this team work, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, wondering if his student had any insight he'd missed as just an observer.

"I don't know, Sensei. I find them difficult to work with. They don't bother listening all the way through my suggestions. Sasuke's been spoilt by the village, being the last Uchiha giving him automatic privileges. Sakura's mum is on the civilian council, and I'm not blind to their opinion of me, which is reflected in her. I can't understand how they think, other then they haven't had to work half so hard for nothing more than survival, and haven't learnt of the world yet. For the same reason they can't understand me, because they can't comprehend what my life was like.

"You'd have to teach them that, get them to see that there is no good in the world before we could get enough understanding as a team. As it is we have no respect for each other and without that we'll never really connect."

"That's the same conclusion I came to." Kakashi responded, understanding where his student was coming from. The pair sat in companionable silence in the tree for another few hours, Naruto pulling out a senbon out and practicing his control, each ruminating on what they'd learnt of the other.

It was nearing 2000 when Kakashi dropped out of the tree. "We should be going, Naruto. Sakura will have dinner finished."

Naruto sighed silently, not quite ready to leave and face his teammates, but dutifully followed his sensei back to the estate. Naruto re-tied the bandanna as they walked, hiding the scarring from sight once more.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted as he walked in.

"Kakashi-sensei. Naruto. I was just finishing up with making dinner. A couple more minutes if you wanted to sit down." Sakura returned, hesitating slightly over Naruto's name in her uncertainty of where she stood with the blond. The meal was eaten in an awkward silence, Sakura fidgeting uncomfortably and Sasuke glaring at Naruto, unable to see past his own grief and loss to acknowledge the blonds own suffering.

"N-Naruto, is what Kakashi-sensei said true?" Sakura asked when they'd all finished eating, breaking the tense silence.

"What did Kakashi-sensei tell you?" Naruto signed back, casting a slightly questing glance at the man - there was nothing in his file worth telling.

"He said you would've left the orphanage sometime while you were in the academy. I know Sasuke-kun lives alone in his clan compound, so what did you do?"

"I left the orphanage earlier than that, it wasn't in my file. I moved into one of the units set up for academy student when I was eight though, beyond that isn't really anything I wish to share."

"Right. Ano... I also wish to apologise for what I said. It was out of line and unfair." Sakura said, not able to meet Naruto's eyes as she remembered her words and focusing instead on his hands.

"Does your apology mean you're going to change the way you treat me?" Naruto asked in response, watching her patiently.

"Yes. I- I haven't really been fair..."

"Good. Otherwise your apology would've been worthless." Sakura's green eyes widened in shock at the comment, but nodded in understanding. A glance at Sasuke showed he was in disagreement, and when he saw the girl looking he finally spoke up.

"I've done nothing wrong, and you can't have possibly lost more than me." With that comment the boy stood to take his dishes to the sink. Naruto nodded an acknowledgement to Sakura, and the girl took it as thanks as he also stood to do his dishes. Kakashi watched his two male students, proud that Naruto had kept a cool head and wondering about how much the village made Sasuke feel entitled, feel as though the world owed him for what his brother took.

Sakura lost a little of the illusion she had of Sasuke, the way he was so dismissive of others pain, skills and all else. It emphasized to the girl what Kakashi had meant when he said the Uchiha needed to take into account what his team mates suggested.

The remainder of the week was uneventful. Sasuke increased his chakra control and continued his physical conditioning, Kakashi running him through his Taijutsu in their extra hours. Naruto kept improving his own Taijutsu, having committed the three beginner kata's to memory and working on perfecting them. Sakura saw the most improvement, her better diet being a key factor. By the end of the week she had doubled her previous exercise regime, and made sure to always have leaves positioned on her somewhere - twenty now being the usual amount since improving her control was no longer the target, but her ability to split her attention and focus to maintain them all. Two minor Genjutsu were also added to her repertoire.

The following week of training went in a similar vein - the students returning to their respective homes, and continued using the extra hours before Kakashi's arrival for physical training.

Sakura convinced her mother to provide bigger meals, but as it was still not enough the girl purchased more to supplement it before missions and after training. She improved her attitude towards Naruto, listening to what he said and working with him when he made suggestions - although she was very passive when it came to voicing what they came up with to Sasuke.

The Uchiha changed very little, his disdain for his teammates actually increasing. In his opinion Naruto was exaggerating and had no idea what he was talking about, and Sakura was pathetic for falling for it. It made missions much more difficult, and team training was just as bad.

Naruto simply returned to his previous routine for the week, exercising and studying as if there had been no change - the most notable thing being the thank you note left at Aki no Shokuji for their continued supply of free food. Although the boy was thankful that he could exchange his books again - no longer under the watchful eye of his Jonin sensei. The late night appropriation of the information soothing him somewhat.

Kakashi himself was slightly disappointed, and decided to go ahead with his plan seeing that less extreme measures wouldn't be effective.

-1-

It was Friday, and Kakashi was again informing his team of the change to their routine that would be the next week.

"Team, I had hoped that the last two weeks would have brought you closer together as a team - a family - as I've been trying to achieve since you were assigned to me. So far, it's been a failed effort. While I'm proud of each of your individual progress, and Sakura your improved attitude towards your teammates is good, it's not where it needs to be. Sasuke, your dismissal of your teammates is unacceptable. Naruto and Sakura, you are both too passive with your opinions.

"As such, I've realised you need a greater understanding of one another's lives as they are now and therefore each other. Starting Monday when you arrive at training, you will Henge yourselves as each other, and be that person until training the following Monday. This is why I told you to observe each other last week - so you could effectively do so.

"Naruto, you're going to take Sasuke, Sasuke will transform into Sakura and Sakura, you will be living as Naruto. You are not to tell anyone, and are to act as your teammate to the best of your ability. I want each of you to write down your routine for each other tomorrow, along with any noteworthy habits or tricks. For example, Sakura, the way you interact with your mother is something you will need to mention.

"I want each of you to be thinking about the influences you encounter on each other, and how that would affect the way your teammate may think. Pack a week's worth of clothes and nothing else, those will be under henge but any other supplies will be those of the teammate you are posing as. That includes weapons and money. Do you have any questions about this?"

Kakashi regarded the reactions of the three Genin in front of him. Naruto had tilted his head to the side in thought, and the silver haired man thought he saw a glimmer of understanding in the blue eyes. Sasuke's expression was somewhere between a scowl and a sneer, demonstrating his displeasure and disdain at the idea. Sakura looked on the verge of protest, but held off from doing so on account of what she'd learned the last week they'd done this by living together.

"Sensei, while I can agree to forgo my nightly workout for this, I would request that I leave off my visits to my-" Naruto paused in his signing, rewording how he wanted to say what he needed before starting again. "The location you found me at last week is a secret I'm not yet prepared to share. As it is I doubt either Sakura or Sasuke would be able to last on so little sleep that part of my routine leaves me with." This was conveyed with an impassive expression on the blond's face, but Kakashi could read the tenseness in the boy's shoulders as the defensive wariness it was.

"That is acceptable, each person is entitled to their secrets. That goes for you too Sasuke, you're the only one permitted to your clan scrolls without permission. Sakura, I don't believe you had anything from what I've seen that is quite as private but if there is something ask me about it and you can leave it off."

"Nothing, Kakashi-sensei." The girl responded.

"Good, then you're dismissed. We'll discuss your schedules tomorrow." With that Kakashi turned and left, heading to the memorial stone to ask his old team if he was doing the right thing.

Instead of training after mission the next day Kakashi had his Genin sit down in front of him, seating himself on a log as they prepared to go through the schedules. Sakura immediately stuck fifteen leaves to herself, shifting nervously in front of her sensei. The girl wasn't looking forward to this activity, still holding on to her wariness of her blond teammate despite the week of amicability.

"Okay, switch routines and read them through, we can ask questions and clarifications after." The three did as told, handing over and receiving their new routine for the week.

"Are there any interactions with people during the week, Sasuke? Do you go shopping, and what's the budget for that?" Naruto signed, the only thing he was unsure about from what he'd received from the other boy.

"I don't talk to anyone, shopping is done on Sunday and costs about 50 000ryo."($50AUD) Sasuke replied turning towards Sakura with his own questions. "What do you spend an hour in the bathroom doing? And what do you talk with your parents about during dinner?"

"I spend an hour in the bathroom making myself look pretty of course, for you Sasuke-kun. Kaa-san and I talk about my training , you of course Sasuke-kun, and Naruto. Sometimes she talks about the council, and the changes she's trying to make for the village. Kaa-san always starts the conversations, so just listen and agree with her." Sakura answered, and when Sasuke nodded to her she turned to Naruto, opening and closing her mouth a couple of times as she tried to think of what to ask.

"Umm... Naruto... Why? You've clarified everything fine but why does it say... why enter your own apartment through the window? Why are you using a henge to buy groceries? Why are you getting dinner from the back of a restaurant? Why have you specified your routes, and hide? Don't be seen? The hell is that supposed to mean?" Sakura was wide eyed and incredulous, not sure what to make of the bizarre instructions. Kakashi looked at the blond, curious about the answers he'd give despite already knowing why and Sasuke was just curious, his teammates questions making little sense to him.

"The front door is padlocked from the inside. I get overcharged or thrown out if I go as myself. Dinner from Aki no Shokuji is free, Akimichi-san has been kind enough to keep providing since I became a ninja as he has for the last years. The routes are the safest - least people along them. Don't be seen. It's not safe." Naruto tried to emphasise safe, holding the position with his hands for longer to try get the message across.

"If you really want to understand?" Sakura nodded, curious and confused and doubting it was near as bad as he was making it seem. Naruto sighed silently, but brought his hands together to begin explaining his idea. "I do my shopping on Saturday, but on Monday go try shop without a henge. Ignore the hide instructions and just walk through the streets to wherever you're going, although I'll ask that you not do so walking to my apartment. When you realise why those are the instructions I've left you'll follow them. I'll take you tomorrow after training to put your signature into my security seals, and show you how to get into my apartment.

Sakura nodded, uncertain but determined to spend Monday in the open. There couldn't be any reason for what he had said to do. The girl believed Konoha was a safe village, even without the Konoha police around as they used to be.

"Any other questions?" Kakashi asked, looking at his team to make sure they were prepared. Naruto caught his eye, and signed "wait behind please" to him while Sasuke and Sakura were both focused on their sensei. The man nodded to the three of them, when he saw nothing else noteworthy. "Then you're dismissed, I'll see you for training tomorrow." Despite that, Kakashi remained seated, and watched as Naruto got up with deliberate slowness, stretching out his back as he watched the other two leave.

The blond turned to his sensei when he was sure they wouldn't be overheard. "Are you able to follow Sakura at least on Monday? I gave her my best routes but if she's going to ignore it then I would ask you follow her until she starts hiding."

"I can do that Naruto, was considering doing it when you suggested she not bother hiding if she wanted to know anyway. May I ask what I should be prepared for, and why you suggested Monday rather than Saturday or Sunday, since they're either shopping or last day of the exercise?" Kakashi asked his student, he had a fair idea of what his reasoning might be but wanted to hear it straight from his student.

"It'll make the entire week have a bigger impact, knowing what it is she's avoiding, rather than just following the instruction of her silent, now paranoid team mate. They'll either try overcharging her or simply throw her out of shops. Generally walking through the village she'll be glared at, people will shove her and bump her and there'll be mutterings about the demon. Later on chances are someone will get violent and try to beat her, if they're smart they'll call for others and it'll turn into more of a mob. With luck it'll only be civilians that try that on her though. Do you want to be keyed into my apartment seals too, sensei?"

Kakashi was honestly shocked, he didn't think the boy's treatment was still that bad on a regular basis. He shook his head at the stupidity of the villagers and responded to his students question. "Yes please, if that's okay with you. I'll make sure Sakura stays safe on Monday. Was there anything else I needed to know?" Kakashi asked, and Naruto shook his head no in response.

"Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow for training Naruto. Ja ne." With a wave and an eye smile, Kakashi wandered off. Naruto following his example and headed to the market, half an hour and a henge later and he was packing away a weeks worth of groceries into his fridge.

After that, once he'd gotten into his room and access to his books Naruto considered what he felt like reading. Soon enough an idea came to him - Sakura was trying to make an effort to be his teammate so he'd prepare something for when they'd really bonded. The blond knew the next week would change her outlook and hopefully bring the team together at least a little, he'd make a greater effort to be more approachable. Naruto planned to extend an olive branch.

Kakashi had been teaching the girl genjutsu and her memory would be an asset for that, giving her the ability to recreate what she saw into illusion to near perfection. Her natural chakra control would be an additional boon, and ninjutsu would be too taxing on her reserves for her to rely on anyway.

Decided, Naruto grabbed a book on weapons and another on genjutsu before making his way to the cemetery.

According to what the boy read, genjutsu worked by the caster inserting their own chakra into the targets body, manipulating their senses so they'd perceive an illusion. The more skilled one was the harder the illusions would be to break, as a fluctuation of chakra was the easiest way to disrupt genjutsu. More skilled users could make them more malleable, able to move their own chakra with the spike to keep an illusion in place.

Alternatively, they could have a second illusion behind the first set so as to only activate with the dispelling of the first, keeping a target under the influence of the caster. Either of the methods require absolute control over ones chakra, and the ability to sense another's was also beneficial for determining how best to make illusions hold through attempted dispersals.

Some basic techniques like _ (Offset), which slightly distorted depth perception or distances required only hand seals for use, although without more intimate knowledge of genjutsu the technique would be easily broken.

Genjutsu was also more effective if it had an initiator, a way into a targets system through one of the senses. Usually it was something distracting, to take focus away from the hand seals used for the technique as it was easy devise that a genjutsu was being used if there were no ninjutsu results.

A short perusal of the weapons book and Naruto came up with an idea and begun designing seals.

First would be an activation node that would start the sequence. The second cell would feed into a thick line of ink about four inches long and turn it into a thick liquid. The next series would remove all chakra from that ink and the paper around it. The removed chakra would be routed to the second sequence to activate it without interfering too much that the seal wouldn't work.

On either side of the line Naruto started sketching out more cells, making sure the design would be symmetrical. Two nodes two accept chakra were drawn, and a couple of guiding lines were added parallel to the thick middle one.

A second design was scribbled down, only the second sequence was perpendicular before turning to also be parallel, making an odd 'T' shape, rather then 'III'. Naruto spent another hour messing around with the design to make it as efficient and precise as possible, changing the part he'd use and the way Sakura would have to activate it before he finalized the design. Although, it would be a fair while before Sakura would have any use for the seal.

Finished, Naruto sealed his supplies away and dropped from the tree, heading trait to Aki no Shokuji for his dinner. His usual exercise routine of night time running was completed after that. After arriving home the blond showered and went to sleep.

Sunday passed quickly, training, missions, team drills and lessons. Sakura spent half of her attention casting glances at her team mates, the looks differing between them. The girls thoughts when looking at Naruto tended to revolve around how she would have to spend the week as him. She hadn't told her mother, but the pinkette could easily imagine the rant the woman would likely go on. It'd include multiple iterations of how the boy was trouble and she was a girl who shouldn't have to do something so demeaning. How she should eat less and go back on her diet and focus on getting close to Sasuke rather then waste time with 'that boy.'

Sakura couldn't help but disagree with such sentiment. It was slight, but she'd spent 4 weeks on a team with Naruto, one of those living with him. So far as she'd seen, beyond being silent and distant he'd done nothing to warrant the kind of vitriol Mebuki often spouted about him. Sakura loved her mother, she was the only family the girl had and she didn't remember her father but the girl was starting to see the world for herself - even just a little bit - and it was different then what she'd been told.

'Who knows fucking nothing beyond the world that wasn't in your books, learnt in the damn classroom or in a warm bed.' Sakura recalled Naruto saying, and couldn't help but agree even if only slightly.

On the other hand the girls starry eye's at Sasuke had diminished a fair bit. Sakura was still holding tightly to her crush, but it was slipping through her fingers like water. The boy had barely acknowledged her more then necessary, and Kakashi was right when he'd pointed out how dismissive the Uchiha was of herself and Naruto. Also, while the boy was still cute with a tragic past, the week living together had removed a lot of her illusions about him.

Sakura had seen him as a person in that time, not as a story from her mother or the sole heir of a clan being lusted over by every girl in the class room. The girl was still stubbornly holding onto her crush though, having spent too long chasing after him to drop it so easily. The constant pushing from her mother and competition that had developed between her and Ino for Sasuke's affection made it even harder to banish her preconceptions.

Sasuke spent the day brooding and sneering. He was an Uchiha, and considered himself above his two team mates and such an activity. A week as a fangirl? The boy was absolutely disgusted with the idea, and was nursing a growing dislike for his sensei. He needed to get strong, to kill his brother, and Kakashi wasn't yet helping Sasuke towards that goal. He didn't believe he needed a team, and Sasuke was determined to do everything himself.

"Okay Team, tonight go home and pack for the week. Sasuke, seal away anything that is Clan scrolls although I'm sure Naruto would respect your privacy if you simply asked. Tomorrow, you'll switch equipment as soon as you arrive - not as soon as I arrive - and adopted each others persons. Training included, although no more then you're capable of. Also, you will all use KSL2 to communicate - although you may also speak along with your sign. This is to practice it and become more fluent." Kakashi instructed, receiving three nods in response.

"Sasuke, you can leave, Sakura you need to come with Naruto and myself to get access to his apartment."

"Hai, Sensei." Sakura responded, while Sasuke simply grunted and walked away.

"Naruto, care to lead the way?" Naruto nodded, turning on his heal and walking away. Upon exiting the training ground the blond made a bee line for a nearby alley, automatically moving up against western wall and into the shadows. Naruto's steps were silent, and he moved at a light jog as he kept out of sight through habit. Kakashi followed his example, and Sakura also tried to, although she had minimal success - having not had a lot of experience with stealth beyond academy lessons.

It was ten minutes of jogging on the most convoluted route Sakura had ever seen before Naruto suddenly jumped up into a tree, pulling himself up through the branches with an ease of long practice. Kakashi simply walked up the wall to the window he knew was Naruto's while Sakura followed after her blond team mate.

Once at his own sill, Naruto removed ink and a brush, using rapid and precise strokes to add two small array's for both a permanent and temporary signature to the lock. As much as the boy wanted to be a proper team he didn't yet trust Sakura, and wanted to be able to lock her out after the week was over.

Finished, he indicated Kakashi to the node where he would be given permanent access. After Naruto himself channelled chakra into the seal to activate it, Kakashi added his own so he'd be given entrance. The array glowed for a second in indication it had worked before it died off.

Kakashi moved out of the way after that, although he studied the seal as much as he could in curiosity - it was a fairly basic seal as far as things went but still fairly strong. Sakura was next added to the temporary seal, and once finished she scaled back down the building before heading home with a quiet "Arigato" to her team mate.

"Ja ne." Kakashi said with his customary eye smile as he disappeared with a swirl of leaves. Naruto didn't bother responding to two people who were no longer there as he let himself into his apartment. He hadn't included his wall seal in his instructions for Sakura, so he channelled chakra into that to remove all his things. A quick perusal of what he had, Naruto resealed all but a single spare set of kunai, shuriken and senbon each. His clothing sets were placed into a storage scroll and books were sorted into stacks.

Naruto figure that while Sakura had to be him, and therefore spend two hours reading a day he could leave her with books that would be beneficial to her. The genjutsu and weapons books were left behind, but all the others were sealed so they could be returned.

Five hours later and a shadow was entering the academy library - he'd long since rigged the seals to accept him. All the books in there covered just beyond the basics - a little more in depth then what was taught in the academy - and that was Sakura needed. The pinkette needed to expand on her knowledge base. A more advanced book on genjutsu was taken, going more into the theory of casting and creating then the more generalised book Naruto already had. A book on taijutsu was added - the same one the blond had first read by Maito Dai.

 _A Guide to Controlling Chakra_ was also procured - Sakura had already been continuing with the leaf exercise, and this book would give the girl direction. The final book Naruto chose was on the human anatomy, focusing on lethal strike points, pressure points and the nervous system with a detailed description of the brain. It'd be a benefit for genjutsu - knowing where the nerves were and how the brain received signals.

Deciding he had enough to give direction to his team mate, Naruto exited the library and made his way home. The books were set in the cupboard with his spare weapons before Naruto had a shower and went to sleep.

* * *

 **I apologise for taking so long to get this out to you guys! Wasn't my intention, but I've been tired and work and busy but this is and I'm not here to bitch.**

 **Back to fic though, sorry for taking so long. I think I'm losing motivation for this fic to be completely honest. There's another chapter that I'll post next week but after that chance are it'll stop. I've looked back and read reviews etc, and identified things I could have done better or differently or some such. I'll probably get off my ass in like, 2 months and re-read and then edit the whole thing.**

 **Which is also a good cue for you guys to tell me my bad point and what is losing your interest, so I can revamp and make the whole thing better.**

 **So, please read and review very very much, and I hope you enjoyed this Chapter. Kudos if you've realised where the fic title/inspiration came from at this point.**


	7. Metamorphosis

A/N: I don't own Naruto or any recognisable material, and none of this is for profit.

Upon arrival at Training Ground 7 Naruto - rather than immediately beginning his workout - removed his thigh and back holsters, along with Takumi's knife he still kept strapped to his right forearm. Knowing that he'd have to appear weaker than he was but still wanting to get a decent workout, the blond activated the sixth level on his resistance seal. The effect was immediate as the boy found every movement he made requiring twice as much strength.

That done, Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet a couple of times and begun stretching as he waited for his team mates.

When Sakura arrived, she jogged over to where Naruto was by the training posts, removing her own equipment before using a **henge** to take Naruto's appearance. Once done, the girl attached the two pouches in their respective places. When she came across the knife she paused.

"Naruto, where do you keep this knife?" She asked, looking up at the blond.

"Strapped to the underside of the right forearm. Please do not lose or damage it. Use thigh holster senbon or coat your hands in chakra, the ones at your back are poisoned, although the antidote is in the seal placed where it attaches to your waist. Pull your hood forwards more - your hair is showing." He signed to her. "Sign only too, adopt my persona entirely, Sakura."

"Right. Thanks, Naruto." The pinkette signed back, the two were using KSL2 Kakashi had taught them. It was a variation that was only one handed and used significantly less frequently - the lack of hand meant there were smaller variations between signs so it was more difficult to interpret. Naruto was the only one of the Genin completely fluent, although Sasuke and Sakura were quickly getting to that point. They'd had to spend the first week as a team reviewing KSL1 and ESL before they were fluent enough to be taught a third.

"No problem. Ohayo, Sasuke." Naruto signed, first responding to Sakura then greeting his other team mate.

Sakura begun to respond in her typical fashion - over exuberantly - but caught herself and also signed an "Ohayo, Sasuke." in as close to an impersonation of Naruto she could manage.

Sasuke grunted his own non-committal greeting as he removed his equipment and place it next to where Sakura had left hers. Naruto quickly used a seal less **henge** \- moulding his chakra without hands seals was something he had been practicing and had only achieved the **henge** without them. Now standing as a perfect copy of Sasuke, Naruto began placing his teammate weapon holsters in their appropriate places.

The Uchiha followed his example, transforming into Sakura and adding her equipment onto his own person. That done, the three of them began the physical routines of the one they were transformed as. Kakashi arrived to be rather confused, as the only one of his three Genin to not look about ready to fall over from exhaustion was 'Sakura'. He raised an eyebrow in question at 'Sasuke' and watched as the boy lifted as single hand where he was leaning against one of the posts.

"Resistance seals." Naruto signed tiredly, heaving himself off the tree as he waited for orders on what he'd be doing from his sensei.

"Ah. Right then, my cute little students. I see you've done as I've asked. First, I'm going to teach the three of you a voice changing jutsu called **Hencho**. All it does is change the pitch, depending on how much chakra you put into it. The signs are usagi(hare), inu(dog), tori(bird), nezumi(rat). That'll make your voice change pitch higher, reverse nezumi will change the pitch lower. Naruto, I know you're unable to use this, but Sakura, Sasuke, you'll both find it useful this week. Practice it during lunch.

"Now though, as usual, Sasuke I want you to continue your conditioning, run through your kata a few times. Sakura same for you, physical exercise and chakra control. Naruto, you'll be working with me on taijutsu, I'm going to show you a new kata today. Have fun." Kakashi both signed and spoke, finishing his instructions with an eye smile before he turned to 'Naruto.'

He'd made sure each student would be doing something they needed to work on without making them break character, with the exception of Sakura. Over the time she'd been his student her physical condition had improved enough he was comfortable teaching her a style of taijutsu.

"As you have no style beyond the academy taijutsu we need to choose one that's most suited for you. I've notice that when I have you spar with the others during team training you more regularly use the heavy hits and blocks you've been taught with a strong, solid footing. This is oppose to the dodging and kicks that you know how to do. That's the beauty of the academy style, you're taught all manner of moves and then go with your instinct for which ones you use. I can now choose a style to work with that for the best result." Kakashi said, 'Naruto' nodding along in agreement with the man's analysis.

"I'm going to teach you **Kawaken** , which will give you much more diversity and if you read this -" Kakashi tossed a scroll to the blond, who caught it a placed it in 'his' back pouch before continuing "- it'll show you where you aim to hit for the most damage."

"Hai, sensei." 'Naruto' signed, preparing for the lesson.

It was a gruelling three hours for Sakura as she learnt the first kata of the K **awaken** , however she felt confident that she would quickly adapt to the moves. It was a style she felt comfortable with already, each of the stances and moves feeling natural for her.

Naruto was exhausted, his muscles screaming in protest after such a long period of activity with the increase of his seal. The blond used the guise of Sasuke to allow himself to lean against a tree as his chest heaved, not usually permitting himself such an obvious sign of weakness.

Sasuke was likewise very tired, although it was less pronounced having spent the last hour working on chakra control rather than physical conditioning.

Lunch was eaten at the usual time of 1300 - and they ate the lunch of their transformation as oppose to the one they prepared themselves - before the team headed to the mission desk for their assignment.

Sakura repressed the urge to fidget as they walked down the busy street. She'd never noticed it before - being too enamoured and preoccupied watching Sasuke - but the number of glares she was receiving was far greater then she expected. It seemed as if every second person was glaring or sneering at her, and the girl tugged the illusionary hood further over her temporarily whiskered face. It didn't help, but it made her feel just slightly more secure.

Naruto was experiencing a similar yet also completely opposite phenomenon. While making sure to keep the haughty attitude on his face, he was struggling to cope with the looks of admiration and near devotion directed at him. It was a complete opposite of what he was used to experiencing and having so many people focused on his form made him feel incredibly exposed and nervous.

Sasuke was silently stewing beneath the **henge** , finding being a girl - especially a fangirl - incredibly demeaning. The boy was also rather annoyed that all the attention that was so rightfully _his_ was being showered all over his blond team mate.

The Chunin on duty ignored 'Naruto' almost pointedly as he read aloud the options for D-rank mission to Kakashi.

"We've got painting a fence, planting crops, weeding crops, tiling a roof, catching Tora or babysitting. What's your pick?" the Chunin's voice was near monotonous in his boredom as he gave them their choice. Kakashi thought for a moment, considering the requirements of each mission before making his decision.

"If we could take the roof tiling contract please." The scroll was promptly handed over, and the four made their way out from the building. "Okay, so it's over in the eastern quarter, all the tools and supplies are already there. Remember to stay in character." Kakashi said and the three Genin nodded in acknowledgement. Sasuke made sure to fawn a little more, Naruto scowled and Sakura clamped down on her returned urge to fidget.

It surprised the girl how much hostility she felt aimed at her, and she was thankful when they got off the main street as they turned towards the clients house. When they knocked on the front door they were greeted by a kind old lady, right until her eyes fell on 'Naruto'. Her lip curled up into a sneer and she opened her mouth as though to begin speaking when she was cut off by a polite sounding cough from Kakashi.

"Would you be able to point us to the supplies so we can get to the repairs?" the Jonin spoke in a light, flippant voice, eye curved into an upside down u as he smiled innocently. Sakura at least wasn't fooled - she knew the woman was about to say something unkind that Kakashi interrupted. Either way, the woman blinked and pointed around the side of the house.

"Just around there. You'll find everything you need." A last scathing glance was cast at 'Naruto' before the door was firmly closed on the four.

Sighing internally Kakashi led them to the side of the house before taking a seat on the fence and absorbing himself in a book. His Genin had been under him long enough to know he wouldn't help and they should just get the job done.

As such, Naruto took the lead, sticking to the wall to walk up before examining what was damaged and in need of replacement. Without words the other two followed his example - Sasuke because as much as he hated the act it was what Sakura would have done and Sakura doing so because Naruto did, and following his lead as him was the logical thing to do.

Naruto, using Sasuke's temperament as a condescending bossy asshole to his advantage, begun signing what he wanted done.

"We need to remove the ruined tiles first, Sakura you do that, I'll take them down and put them in a waste pile. Naruto, you can replace them with the new ones I'll bring up. Work from the left to the right, bottom to top. Understood?" He received two signs of "Hai." in response before he started pulling apart the roof until he had a sufficient amount of damaged tiles to take down.

The trio worked in silence for the next few hours, methodically completing the task. Kakashi thought it likely that if Sasuke had been leading he would have had them each pull out tiles, dump them and replace them. As it was, with Naruto in charge the mission was completed in a timely and controlled manner, with no incidents. When they were done, Kakashi had their client sign the scroll to indicate mission completion and the team took it to mission desk to be signed off and collect payment.

Team training was a worse disaster then was usual despite the success of the mission. Sasuke refused to cooperate now that they were no longer in public and playing the role wasn't as necessary. Kakashi ended up just having him go through a round of laps, push ups, squats, chin ups, sit ups and other such exercises. Naruto practiced his sealless **kawarimi** and Sakura ran through her new kata under Kakashi's supervision.

Upon dismissal Naruto walked to the Uchiha compound, doing his best to ignore the stares he received. Upon arrival, he adopted Sasuke's routine of making a simple dinner, noting what ingredients were there so he'd know what to buy on Sunday. Although the blond was confused as to how his team mate afforded so much with only the 50 000ryo($50AUD) he claimed was his budget.

During dinner Naruto considered the house, looking around at the pictures hung on the wall. The most prominent being of a stern looking man stood next to a woman of the same apparent demeanour. Naruto assumed them to be Sasuke's parents. Notably, there were no pictures of Sasuke above the age of 7, and none at all of Itachi. After dinner the temporary revenette walked through the compound, having nothing to read.

He took a route that meandered between each of the houses and then looped around the perimeter a few times. Naruto saw a couple of the wooden buildings that had red stains on them - blood likely having soaked the timber and left there after the massacre of the clan.

The whiskered boy realised that if Sasuke so frequently walked through the compound, so often was confronted by his brothers work, then it was little wonder he obsessed over killing his the man. Naruto knew he wouldn't hesitate to kill his own brother's murderers, if he could remember who they were - the head trauma he'd taken from the bat messing slightly with his memory.

While understanding had been borne for his team mates brooding and obsessive attitude, the blond was yet to understand why Sasuke felt himself so superior. Had he not yet been proved otherwise? Naruto was unsure how he could consider either himself or his clan so strong and great whilst only a Genin and the only loyal member.

After three hours of aimless wandering and musing on his team mate Naruto went to bed, exhausted after the early increase on his resistance seals.

Sasuke, likewise, followed Sakura's routine by going to purchase himself something to eat. Knowing the girl had previously been dieting, and that her mother would likely still be trying to keep her eating low-carb food he tried to buy something hi-carb as his own diet was larger than Sakura's. Eating as he walked Sasuke soon reached the home of his pink haired team mate.

"Taidaima Kaa-san!(I'm home!)" Sasuke called out brightly, making sure to imitate Sakura as he took off his sandals and walked to the kitchen.

"Okaeri, Sakura-chan." Mebuki responded as she finished plating up the rice. "How was Sasuke-kun today? And training? Did your other team mate leave you alone?"

Sasuke was started to say the least at the line of questioning, himself being the first topic under discussion. He shook it off quickly though and answered the questions in the fashion Sakura had said he should. Tried to, at least.

"Fine, Kaa-san. How was your day?" The response was shorter then what Sakura usually responded with, but Mebuki either ignored it or missed it entirely, instead carrying on the conversation.

"My day was fine. I spent a few hours with a couple of the council members discussing what needs to be changed in the village. We're trying to lower the tax civilians are required to pay. We live here and build most of the economy, why should there be a tax for us? I also went and spoke to Isano-san about…" The conversation moved on from there, Mebuki carrying on the bulk of it. Sasuke found himself just nodding along and agreeing with the woman, despite having no idea what at least half of what she said meant.

When Sakura's mother started talking about him, and trying to get Sakura to get a date with him Sasuke was at a loss as to what to say. When the woman started commenting on how much 'she' was eating, and how it would affect Sakura's figure the boy felt it necessary to interrupt.

"Kaa-san, I've told you this already, Kakashi-sensei said I need to eat more in order to get stronger and built muscle. I work out and burn any extra calories in training so I need to eat more, not less." It was an awkward thing to say for Sasuke, as he'd never told Mebuki anything. When the woman threw a disappointed but resigned look his way the ravenette gave an internal sigh of relief - he wasn't wrong that the conversation had been had before.

Another thing Mebuki brought up was Naruto, and Sasuke was surprised by the thinly veiled hate she had for the boy. The woman never said it outright, but it was in her eyes as she warned him to stay away from the blond. The arguments sounded rehearsed, as though they'd been spoken a thousand times and this was simply a reminder. It was shocking for the boy, as he'd been far too absorbed within himself too see more than a fraction of the disdain the village had for Naruto.

Soon after that Sasuke went to the bathroom to take Sakura's bath, coming out of it feeling like a prune before going to bed.

Sakura had the most eventful afternoon, sticking with her conviction of not hiding as Naruto suggested. Despite the display during their mission the girl was determined to prove he was simply paranoid. As such, the girl confidently walked out of the training ground towards the market, planning to buy something to make into dinner as had been suggested.

Kakashi followed silently from the rooftops, keeping out of sight while he watched his student. Sakura was shoved repeatedly as she walked, and while still determined she found herself walking with less straight-backed, bull headed confidence then she'd left with and trying to weave between the civilians to avoid being knocked over. Despite that, she still repeatedly found herself pushed more often than she would be had she looked like herself.

Ten minutes later and she was entering the store her mother usually shopped at, grabbing a basket and dropping in what she'd need to make a good dinner. It seemed to be all going well, fairly standard for a shopping trip in her experience. That remained true right up until the temporary blond arrived at the register, the man at the checkout only glancing up at her after ringing up all the items.

Seeing who it was, the price was promptly quadrupled, totalling at 120 000ryo($120AUD) and far exceeding what Sakura was willing to pay.

"Sir, that should only total 30 000ryo($30AUD)" Sakura signed in ESL. She received a blank look in return, so instead pulled out what she knew was required and gestured with it, trying to indicate the price.

"120 000 for you, _boy._ " The word boy was sneered at Sakura, but the girl remained firm and shook her head.

"If you won't pay then get out. You're holding up the line." When she remained standing, stunned in place she was grabbed by the arm and bodily thrown out of the store. "It won't pay!" The man called out behind her before he returned back inside. Sakura was confused and slightly disturbed at being referred to as an 'it.'

Kakashi was startled, but held his ground observing, seeing as how Sakura was physically fine. He would, however, report this to the Hokage. Sakura pushed herself back up to her feet and continued, turning to another store still determined to purchase something for dinner. Word had spread though, and with each attempt the rebuttal had become more severe. They ranged from an impolite send-off of words to a couple who were preparing to hit her before she left.

Half an hour of fruitless trying, she took to the shadows to get to Naruto's apartment. The girl hadn't quite given up though, simply respecting Naruto's wishes for subtlety when entering and exiting his home. Upon arrival, she found the books he'd left in the corner and recalled that he'd usually spend the next two or three hours reading and perfecting his chakra control.

As such, she looked through the books he had and chose the one on taijutsu. While she was much more interested in genjutsu, Kakashi had been gradually teaching her those, and thought she might benefit from more direction in her physical workout. She found the book suggested she wear weights to build her strength due to her naturally being inclined towards heavy hits.

It particularly mentioned having weight on her upper arms as well as her forearms and lower legs at a 1:1:2 ratio to build up her punching power, and which exercises she'd most benefit from in regards to push-ups, sit-up's and other such activities. Sakura resolved to ask Kakashi-sensei about where to get weights from tomorrow. The man himself was currently sat on the tree nearest the window, patiently waiting until he knew the girl would need to leave to collect her dinner.

At just 2125 Sakura left the apartment, re-engaging the seals and walking down the building, Kakashi a silent shadow behind her. It was another rough walk through the village, dodging civilians and even the occasional bottle or stone as she made her way to the alley behind Aki no Shokuji. Sakura was finding herself more and more understanding of the instructions she had been left as the night went on.

She arrived into the alleyway at 2135, finding the bags already there as specified. She grabbed the smaller one, walking away to the wall and opening it, beginning to eat moments later. She was used to eating immediately after training was completed for the day, and found herself absolutely starving having not had anything since lunch.

It was obviously a proper meal and prepared as such rather than just bin scraps despite being made of what was left over. It left the girl wondering how long Naruto had been getting meals from the restaurant. She ate as she walked, using two senbon as unconventional chopsticks. By the time she got a couple of blocks over where there were more people she'd already finished the food, dumping the rubbish in another bin as she passed.

Things turned sour as she walked and the streets got busier. By this point it was nearing 2200 which was just late enough that a few careless civilians had managed to drink enough to lower their inhibitions. Sakura, walking in the open as she was under a **henge** of the village pariah, was unaware just how much trouble she was courting. It struck in the form of a drunken man grabbing her by the arm and dragging her into an alley.

While the girl was easily strong enough and capable of breaking out of the hold the shock of being grabbed prevented her from moving. The feeling of shock was compounded when she recognised the man. Although being nothing more than vague acquaintances Sakura recognised him as the carpenter she'd met with Mebuki when they'd bought a new set of chairs a couple of years ago. The girl remembered him being a kind enough man and was having trouble with seeing this new side to him.

Sakura was thrown onto the ground in a shadowed corner of the street they were now on, at which point the man started drunkenly muttering at her.

"Bloody beast, thinking you can be part of _our_ village. Playing human, being a shinobi." His sneer of disgust was emphasised by a solid kick to the ribs. It wasn't as strong as the ones she received during spars from either of her team mates, but it was considerable coming from a civilian.

"Don't think any of us have forgotten what you are. Sneaking around our village, hiding all the time. _Fucking de-_ " The man was cut off, finding himself pushed against the wall by an arm like a steel bar when moments ago he'd been about do drive his foot into 'Naruto's' stomach. "I suggest you stop speaking and beating up a shinobi of this village and my student, before I have you given to T&I for assault against a ninja and breaking the Sandaime's law." Kakashi's voice was ice cold and sharp, darker and infinitely scarier than Sakura had ever heard it. For possibly the first time she truly realised exactly how dangerous her sensei could be.

"H-H-Hai. H-Ha-Hai, Jonin-san." With that confirmation he was dropped to the floor, at which point he half ran half stumbled from the alley and away from the pair.

That done, Kakashi turned to Sakura and picked her up. The girl had uncurled from her position, but was clutching at her stomach. Likely she was in such a state due to trying to process what little the man had shared rather than pain. Either way, the Jonin carried her back to Naruto's apartment and placed her gently on the bed before bringing her a glass of water.

After drinking it Sakura sent Kakashi a confused, almost broken look of incomprehension. She opened her mouth a couple of times, trying to formulate a question, to ask about the multitude of things she'd experienced since she'd taken Naruto's appearance. She ended up uttering a single word, not able to think beyond that.

"W-Why..?"

"I can't tell you that Sakura. I know why, but Naruto needs to be the one to tell you. Ask him tomorrow or at the end of the week, okay?" Kakashi asked, worried about his lone female student. It was a harsh lesson to learn, but necessary.

"Hai. I'll ask him tomorrow… Even though I don't know why yet, I understand what he meant when he said 'hide.' That's- How could they all treat him like this sensei? Even my mother - she's always telling me he's dangerous, trouble, that being around him will get me hurt so I should stay away. She's said he's evil on occasion too…" Sakura was feeling lost and confused. Her whole life she'd been told the village was safe, that it was protected and she was going to learn to be a protector. The night had been a startling wake up call for the pinkette.

"Fear, ignorance and pain, Sakura. Get some sleep for tonight though. Ask Naruto about it tomorrow."

"Hai. Arigato, sensei."

"It was no problem, Sakura. Ja ne." As was usual, with an eye smile and wave the man disappeared. Sakura settled into the bed to sleep, dropping the **henge** for the night before the jutsu chewed through her still meagre reserves. She fell asleep quickly after that, troubled as she was her exhaustion was great enough to drag her under despite her turbulent thoughts.

Kakashi himself made his way to the Hokage tower. It was a little known fact - and Kakashi himself only knew due to his stint in ANBU - but the tower always had at the least a kage bunshin sitting in the office. The main purpose was to always be available to his shinobi should they need to report for a mission or in case an emergency arose during the night. It also created an illusion of power - always having the Hokage in his office made people feel as though he was always watching, that he and the village never rested or let their guard down.

The paperwork was likewise an illusion. None of it was important - sensitive documents were handled in a secure location by the real Hokage. The stacks in the office were mostly minor - D-rank missions and demands or red tape from the civilian council. It made them feel important for the leader of the village to be spending so much time visibly working on their requests. It furthered their own illusions of power.

So on this night, Kakashi appeared before the Hokage to report on what he'd learnt. Between what he'd heard of Mizuki, and his blatant sabotage of Naruto, and today's discoveries of how the village treats the boy, he had some concerns to bring to the Sandaime's attention. He was still unsure how the blond had learnt of the Kyuubi as well.

-1-

Sasuke woke disgruntled at 0530 the next morning, taking a book on history Sakura had as he made his way to the bathroom. While he'd stick to her routine, there were no specifics as to what he was to do for an hour while in the bathroom, and the boy refused to spend the time as Sakura did 'making herself look pretty.' At 0630 the temporary pinkette made 'her' way down to the kitchen to help Mebuki with making breakfast and lunch.

The silence was filled with slightly awkward but pleasant conversation about what the day would involve for each of them. If it wasn't for the fact Sasuke was under the guise of someone else, and that the end of the conversation was about him and how to get him to fall for Sakura he may have enjoyed the morning. It hurt at the same time though, a reminder of what he no longer had or - as much as he hated to admit it - never had. Neither Fugaku nor Mikoto were quite so involved in Sasuke's life, always holding him at distance, of less importance then his traitorous brother.

Beyond that though, Sasuke didn't know quite how Sakura put up with the constant pressure to stay away from Naruto and get close to him. He found it pathetic - he had to defeat his brother. He did not have time nor did he care about weak and stupid girls or other such frivolous things. He felt they were below him, as most things were. Sasuke felt he could not focus on anything other than killing Itachi - would only get a release from the images of his dead clan when they no longer drove him to avenge them.

He bought a couple of steamed dumplings on the way to the training ground to add to his breakfast, meeting his team upon arrival and falling into an exercise regime as the trio waited for their sensei.

Similarly, Naruto woke at 0600 and had a quick shower before making breakfast. Once finished, he walked through the village to meet with his team mates for the days training. The boy forced himself to take the most direct route, rather than his instinct to stay out of sight by going down the less used streets. The civilians seemed to nearly be tripping over each other to simultaneously move out of his way and get close to him.

A couple of girls vied for his attention with calls of 'Sasuke-kun' which Naruto shut down with a heavy scowl and glare. It wasn't out of character from Sasuke and Naruto was glad to use it. All the attention was unnerving him and making him twitchy, muscles coiling beneath the **henge** in preparation to run.

It was an agonisingly long walk for the whiskered boy, and it was with great amounts of relief he finally arrived at Training Ground 7 and started running, burning off the nervous energy.

Sakura woke at 0600 and hauled herself out of bed. The bruise that she'd been gifted with the previous night was already healed - in addition to strengthening their bodies, the charka running through every ninja increased the rate they healed. Stretching as she stood the girl made her way to the kitchen to see what Naruto had to use for breakfast.

Sakura ended up making an omelette with a multitude of vegetables in it and a piece of toast. She was glad to be able to make her food with enough of the required nutrients, though the girl found it strange to not have Mebuki right alongside her helping. By habit Sakura still prepared enough for two people, which she found fortunate when finding herself in need of a lunch.

After the unexpected events of the previous night, Sakura reviewed the timetable Naruto had provided her with and - after reapplying her **henge** \- left the apartment for the training ground. It was a surreal experience for the girl, sneaking around and trying to stay out of sight while in a village she has equated with _safe_ for her whole life. It was stressful too, and by the time she reached the training ground she was tightly wound from even the few glares she received from those also on the back streets.

Arriving at the grounds Sakura saw that only one of her team mates had already arrived, 'Sasuke'. The girl still wanted answers though, and didn't think she would be able to last the week if she didn't understand the hatred temporarily aimed at her. Thus she jogged over to where 'Sasuke' was running laps, increasing her speed to match his. Sakura was rather fortunate Naruto had increased his resistance seals the previous day, if he hadn't she wouldn't have been able to keep up with his pace - not that she knew this.

The girl squared her shoulders and clicked to get her team mates attention and when he turned, began to sign.

"Why do they hate you?" She asked nervously. Naruto tilted his head slightly as he considered the image of himself, judging her. He knew he was going to tell her - it wasn't fair for her not to know not just for this week but as his teammate. Rather than answering however, the boy posed his own question.

"Is it fair? Or right, or in any way justifiable?" Naruto asked her, keeping half his attention on where he was going as he waited for her answer.

"No!" Came the emphatic answer, Sakura had barely remembered to sign she was so surprised by the question and felt so strongly about the answer. Naruto quirked a brow at her, and the girl felt compelled to elaborate. "I was glared at all day yesterday, they clearly loathed me - you! When I went to purchase some things for dinner I was overcharged and when I refused to pay they threw me out. After that I was barred entrance to every other store on the street. I was called 'beast' and 'it' as though they consider me - you - to not be human. A drunk civilian tried to beat me! I know the guy who tried is usually very nice, Kakashi-sensei ended up scaring him off because I was too shocked.

"None of that is fair! And there is nothing you could have done to justify it. It's not even just the civilians - the ninja at the mission desk was more subtle about it but he didn't look my way the whole time we were there.

"Kaa-san has warned me repeatedly to stay away from you. Calling you dangerous and trouble and so many other things for as long as I've been in the academy. You said you left the orphanage before you turned eight, which means you were probably hated just as much there.

"There's nothing you could've done at such a young age to warrant this kind of hate, especially since there's been no official action against you and no-one will say why they hate you. It's completely unjustifiable!" Sakura's gestures throughout the rant were jerky and fast, near incomprehensible because of it, but Naruto understood.

"I'm the junchuuriki of the Kyuubi. They hate me because I'm easy to blame for his attack on the village - a scapegoat - and they don't know the difference between a kunai and the scroll it's sealed in. That's a village secret too, but I believe I'm able to share. " Naruto's delivery was blunt and to the point. He didn't sugar coat it, simply stated the facts as they were and left it for Sakura to think on.

It helped that Naruto didn't hate the fox near as much as the villagers did. The boy did not care for the past - things simply were for him and he had learnt a long time ago how to roll with the punches as they came. Additionally, the fox had been an infrequent help to him since they first spoke when Naruto was eight. So far as the blond could tell, the Kyuubi wanted little more than to sleep for the rest of its life, although being free to sleep wherever it so chose was something Naruto felt the bijuu would like.

Naruto also knew that the fox hadn't chosen to attack the village. By his own admission, Madara had broken the seal on his mother and controlled the Kyuubi, orchestrating the entire event 12 years ago. The Kyuubi had also been a large support for Naruto, as while he himself never talked to the fox - primarily due to his sole method of communication being visual and not having a desire to wake the fox - the bijuu had been a support.

After the death of Takumi, Naruto had pulled himself together on mostly willpower and a promise. It didn't stop him falling apart at times though, or needing some kind of support before driving himself mad with guilt and the need for vengeance as Sasuke had done. After they met, the Kyuubi was the one to pull him back together - nothing overt, simply a lazy comment about how he needed to train more, or do this or that and that Takumi didn't want Naruto to wallow.

The comments were enough to remind Naruto that he was not alone. He had an ally against the hatred of the village.

Sakura herself was shocked, stunned and felt as though the truth her world was built on was falling apart around her. The stories she'd been told of the Yondaime's death were wrong, the teachers had taught her a lie, her mother had taught her a lie, her mother was unjust in her hatred, the _village_ was unjust in its hatred. Her creepy team mate was saving everyone - holding back such a powerful force.

Sakura didn't care that Naruto was a jinchuuriki, his explanation while blunt was enough to show her that he wasn't the Kyuubi, was even thankful for his status as a container. The girl was immediately aware that if he was a demon as people claimed, then he wouldn't have tolerated the village's abuse. Sakura was much more concerned about what it meant in regards to her.

How many other things might everyone be wrong about? How many other things had she been told that were lies, or half-truths? She'd seen not just how wrong her mother and classmates were about Naruto in the past weeks but how wrong they were about Sasuke. She'd been trying to deny it, to hold on to what she believed - it was a part of her childhood, and in some way through the crush Sakura felt she still had a friendship with Ino.

The pinkette had only ever had the Yamanaka as a friend, and when that friendship had turned into rivalry over the last Uchiha, Sakura had felt shattered. As hard as she tried though the girl could no longer deny what she'd learnt in the last month. Sasuke did not care about anyone but himself, and believed himself superior after the tragedy of his clan. He was incredibly self-absorbed, and could not take others being better then him.

Sakura now found herself lost, directionless. Originally she'd joined the ninja academy to be with Ino, and after that it was the competition between them to get Sasuke's affection. Now, without that, and no longer believing as strongly in the good of Konohagakure, she didn't know what she was fighting for. Considering Naruto would feel much stronger about the issue - as he's a target of the hate whilst Sakura herself is merely a bystander - the girl decided to ask him.

"Naruto, why are you a ninja? Why do you fight for this village?" Sakura asked the transformed boy.

"I'm a ninja because it means I can learn to fight, and therefore protect myself. Konoha has hurt me before, Sakura, and if I'm weak I'll only be letting it hurt me again. I stay because being hurt is all I know, and even just a day as Sasuke, without that hate is something I don't know how to deal with anymore.

"If I had someone worth protecting, I'd fight for them too." Naruto told the girl truthfully. He didn't mention Takumi though - the Kyuubi was a fact, and nobody could hurt him with that information so he had no problem with sharing that. His Aniki was _his_ though- the first person who was there for him, and he'd protect his memory now as he couldn't protect him when he was alive.

Sakura cast Naruto an odd look, not able to comprehend how Naruto could stay for such reasons, for being hated. Beyond that, she understood where he was coming from, and decided she'd spend the week re-evaluating her life and reasons.

"Thank you, Naruto. I'll… I'll think about what you said." After that, the pair focused on their individual activities, running through their conditioning drills as they waited for their sensei's arrival. For his part, Sasuke ignored the pair as he went through his own exercises and only stopped when Kakashi appeared in the training ground.

When the silver haired man did eventually arrive in his customary swirl of leaves, the Genin lined up as they awaited their training instructions.

"Same as yesterday, Naruto, you'll be working with me on taijutsu. Sakura, I want you to continue your conditioning - try to maintain as many leaves stuck to you as you can while working to improve your chakra control. Sasuke, I want you to run through the kata you know a few times for your taijutsu before going back to your physical conditioning." Orders given, the four split to complete their tasks.

Kakashi was glad to see Sakura still here under the guise of her blond team mate. She looked in general a bit more uncertain than usual, but at the same time put more effort into her training. Kakashi had high hopes that he'd made some real progress with her, and that she'd come out of the week prepared to work hard both on a personal level and with the team.

The next - and only - other significant thing to happen in that week was on the Sunday, when Naruto was shopping to replace what he'd used of Sasuke's food. He walked nervously into the store nearest to the Uchiha compound, scowl firmly in place and hiding anything else he may be feeling. The blond then grabbed a basket and dropped everything he needed into it.

As he went, he calculated the total it'd come to, finding himself glad that he'd bought more than what he'd been told he would need. From what he'd worked out, the price would be 64 350ryo($64.35AUD). Having gathered everything Naruto took the basket to the counter, unloading it as the merchant rung up the items.

"Uchiha-sama, that comes to a total of 43 000ryo($43AUD) today." From that moment, Naruto was near autopilot when handing over the money. He managed to keep the brooding scowl on his face, and handed over the money he'd bought easily enough, but he knew the price was significantly less then it should've been. He quickly grabbed the bags, scowling as he walked out.

Things clicked in his mind then. He'd seen it the whole week - the blatant awe and favouritism, the esteem the village appeared to hold Sasuke in. The reason his team mate felt so entitled was because everyone was showing him he was. It wasn't just training and praise in the academy he got, everything had been given to the boy on a silver platter.

Naruto was honestly disgusted, couldn't believe Sasuke had the gall to claim he knew a hard life, knew what it was like to have nothing when so far as Naruto was concerned he had _everything._ No, he didn't have family, and it was tragic, but people were there and wanted to support him. A lot of it may have been fake, but a decent portion was genuine.

It was going to be hard for Naruto to work with the Uchiha after this, to build any kind of relationship deeper than professional. Until, of course, the boy could grow up and realize what he had, acknowledge that he wasn't as entitled as he thought.

Sasuke himself had also changed - very slightly - in the past week. Being away from the compound removed some of the influence it had over him. He thought slightly less of his brother by the end of the week - no longer confronted so continuously by the atrocities that occurred five years ago. Beyond that, he also decided to be slightly more lenient on Sakura, he'd always wanted to please his parents, couldn't the same be said for her?

This didn't change that he wouldn't work with them though. Sasuke still considered himself an avenger, was still determined to kill his brother without help.

Sakura had definitely gone through the biggest change throughout the week. She'd re-evaluated why she wanted to be a ninja, and spent a while looking at the memorial stone.

The cenotaph showed every ninja who'd sacrificed themselves for the village, given their life in the line of duty to protect Konohagakure. They'd protected her, her mother and everyone else. There were a lot of names, and Sakura stared at them wondering if she was prepared to become one of them.

Eventually, she realised yes, she was. Naruto had suffered in this village, and was prepared to suffer more for it whilst still protecting that. More than that though, Konoha was still _safe_ for Sakura, still home. The village could be cruel, but just as much the world could be cruel. Beyond the protection of the walls were more people suffering, and people who wanted to make Konoha suffer.

Sakura decided she'd protect that, she'd hold tight to what she had and not let go. Her mother, Naruto, Kakashi, Sasuke even, _Ino._ Konoha was good and safe and its people were hers and Sakura was determined to hold onto that. She'd thrown herself into training after that, read through all the books Naruto had - memorised their contents and on Saturday she'd discussed weights with Kakashi. The man had asked for some of the money she'd earnt to buy some for her - knowing best where to get them and what kind.

She hadn't yet put them on, but they were going to prompt a style change once she was able to walk around as herself. She'd also decided to re-kindle her friendship with Ino, bring the girl back into her life without their petty rivalry over someone the pinkette now realised wasn't even worth it. He was cute, but not even friend material, let alone boyfriend material.

She was hoping that a shopping trip for her new outfit would be a good olive branch to get it started, convince the blond that she was serious about their friendship.

Kakashi found himself extremely pleased at the end of the week. All three of his Genin could also easily communicate with only KSL2 after using it for the entire week - that being the most minor of their achievements.

He knew things were now on the right track after the change in Sakura, and was impressed in her newfound determination. He wasn't quite sure as to where the new motivation came from, but wasn't overly concerned. He noticed her change in attitude towards Naruto, the respect she had in her eyes when she looked at him.

She listened to him now whenever he talked, asked questions and was much more open. Especially during the lessons at the end of training, Naruto often had insight or had already read ahead to what he was teaching them, and Sakura was happy to listen to his input or assistance with the practical skills. Naruto in turn was much more cooperative, talking more and helping the girl where he could. It wasn't a lot - there were no deeply personal conversations happening - but they were building a bond between them.

The teamwork between the two improved rapidly as a result, and they'd often at least work around Sasuke if not with. Sakura had also completely lost her crush on the ravenette, which would be good in the long term for the 'family' dynamics that were best in teams.

Kakashi had also observed a change in the Uchiha - it was slight, but any progress was good progress. He suspected that it'd take being put into the same situation as Sakura - spending a week as Naruto - before he'd truly manage to change.

Kakashi was a little disappointed in the change in attitude Naruto had towards Sasuke, though. The boy was even more distant from him, and sometimes Kakashi saw faint traces of mixed disgust and pity in his blue eyes. He supposed it was to be expected - from his own situation to that of someone who had everything practically handed to them. The silver haired man only hoped that when Sasuke changed his attitude towards Naruto the blond would likewise adjust.

-2-

It was Monday after training - Kakashi had dismissed them after team drills rather than lessons, so they could settle back into their own homes. Sakura was glad to be able to walk around without a **henge** again. As much as she appreciated the experience - and she did, realizing it was a kick up the ass she really needed to take her career seriously - it was mentally stressful and taxing on her chakra. Although, after the week of constant use, he chakra supply had increased by about a quarter, and Sakura was hoping to increase that further.

Either way, the pinkette was currently walking toward the Yamanaka flower shop, hoping that Ino would be in so they could talk and hopefully shop. Upon entering, Sakura was pleased to see that Ino was behind the counter.

"Ohayo, Ino." Sakura signed with her right hand as she walked over to her blond friend. At Ino's look of confusion Sakura glanced at her hands, blushed then spoke. "Ohayo, Ino." Having used only sign language to communicate for the week - and having no problems being understood - the pinkette had forgotten to speak.

"Hey, Sakura. What're you doing here?" Ino's voice was equal part nervous and curious - she hadn't seen the other girl since graduation and they weren't on the best terms.

"I wanted to talk to you, I've come to some realisations this past week - month, even - and wanted to set aside our differences and have my friend back. After that, I was wondering if you wanted to go shopping with me..?" Sakura trailed off at the end, nervously watching Ino and gauging her reaction.

"This isn't about Sas-" Ino cut off half way through her question at the look that crossed Sakura's face, reconsidered and started again. "You really want to be friends again?"

"Yeah, Ino I- is there somewhere I can sit down while we talk? We don't have to go anywhere." Sakura laughed nervously as she shifted on her feet, and Ino shifted her own stool over, pulling another one out from under the counter.

"Thanks. In my time as a Genin I've learnt a lot. I wasn't actually meant to pass at all." Sakura's head lowered in shame at the memory, now understanding what she was meant to have done, and how bad she'd treated Naruto during the bell test.

"What!? What do you mean?" Ino exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"Well, did your sensei give you an additional test? A teamwork one?" Seeing the blond nod, Sakura continued. "I failed that test - badly. Ours was a bell test. Kakashi-sensei had two bells, and our goal was to get them. Of course, he told us that whoever doesn't get one goes back to the academy, so the three of us split. I was - I was convinced that Sasuke would get them both a give me one as a show of his love." Sakura shocked Ino when she scoffed at the end, shaking her head at her own stupidity.

"Naruto figured it out, and tried getting both myself and Sasuke to work with him, and we both refused. In the end, none of us got the bells. Sensei gave us a second chance - told us we'd have one after lunch, tied Naruto to a post and said we automatically fail if we feed him. We were _meant_ to ignore his rule and feed our team mate, make sure we were all in top condition for the second try.

"We didn't, and so we failed. Kakashi-sensei was apparently ordered to pass us anyway, but he made it clear he disagreed when he began, and drove us into the ground. I- I understand why now." Sakura finished.

"Wait, so you're telling me that both you and Sasuke-kun failed, while that creep Naruto didn't?" Ino exclaimed, and Sakura looked up and glared at her when she'd finished.

"We deserved it, Ino! We're meant to be a team and both Sasuke and myself ignored that! Naruto even went so far as to tell us the answer - or as much as we could understand - and we still didn't work together! And don't call Naruto a creep! He's not, he's my team mate and a comrade who gets put through way too much shit for absolutely no reason!" Sakura didn't yell, but she spoke with a force and passion that honestly surprised the young Yamanaka.

"But, he never talks…" Ino wasn't really trying to defend herself, was simply confused and pointing out why they'd shared that opinion.

"Sorry, Ino, I know. It's just- been a tough week. Naruto doesn't talk because he's mute, but can use Elemental Sign or Konoha Sign 1 and 2 to communicate easily. Kakashi-sensei has had us using 2 all week."

"Oh… then why didn't he use it in the academy?" Ino asked, stunned and subdued by the revelation.

"I think… do you remember Mizuki? He used to always mock Naruto when he wouldn't answer questions. It's possible that Naruto tried, but… I don't think anyone listened."

"Why?" Ino asked. Sakura shrugged slightly in response. "I have an idea, but I'm not allowed to say. Sorry, Ino."

"That's okay, Sakura. So, what's it like being on a team with Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked, deciding she'd had enough of the topic and moving onto something she'd much prefer to talk about.

"He's… honestly? Not worth it, Ino. Sasuke's an entitled brat, who's so self-absorbed he can't acknowledge other people. He refuses to work as a team in any decent way, completely dismisses both Naruto and myself, and believes himself above us when we're of equal rank. He's not even that good - Naruto easily trounces him every time they spar."

"What? But Sasuke-kun was the rookie of the year!" Ino replied, not quite able to believe what she was being told by the pinkette.

"I'm just telling you what I've learnt. I honestly don't want to talk about him, and I no longer want him or any other petty thing to come between our friendship. So, what do you say about shopping? I really want something much more practical and durable then this dress..?" Sakura said, looking at Ino with hope - hope that she'd once more have her friend. That the olive branch would be accepted.

"Yeah, I'd love to. Let me just get Kaa-san to take over for the shop and we'll get going." That said, Ino raced out of the store, coming back five minutes later with her mother in tow.

"C'mon Sakura, let's see what we can find. Bye, Kaa-san!" Ino said, calling out to her mother as she left.

It was a couple of hours later when a satisfied Sakura returned home - arms heavy with her new ninja wear but heart light after the rekindling of her friendship. After much debate between them, Ino and Sakura had come up with a new outfit they thought was equal parts fashionable and practical.

Kakashi had purchased a set of weights that were relatively thin though not small, which simply clipped around wherever they were needed and looked like particularly wide bracelets. They used chakra to adjust the weight of them and were also sturdy enough to act as guards, and were a matte grey colour.

Thus, Sakura decided to leave them showing.

The new outfit was reasonably similar to the old one - she still wore a qipao dress, though the new one only went to mid-thigh and was a darker red with black accents and no sleeves. Beneath it was a long-sleeve black shirt that the weights clipped over, ending beneath the one on her forearms. It puffed at the sleeves slightly so as not to restrict movement at all.

She also wore black tights that ended in her new, black shinobi sandals. She had a black holster on her right thigh as before, but added one to her back after getting used to it from Naruto - it clipped to a black belt around her waist.

The last thing the Sakura changed was her hitai-ate. The band was now black, and could be unfolded into a bandanna to hide her distinctive hair beneath.

She'd learnt a lot about hiding in the last week, and it had left its mark on her.

Dropping her things off in her room, she came back down the stairs to join Mebuki for dinner. It was a fairly silent meal, Sakura feeling a little awkward around her mother after realizing the way she treated Naruto was wrong. When Sakura finished what was on her plate - before Mebuki had finished her own meal - the girl went to the kitchen and put together a little more.

At this, her mother broke the silence. "Sakura! Seconds? I know you're a ninja, and you've explained to me that you need a greater calorie intake, but at this rate you'll never maintain your figure. How do you expect to get Sasuke-kun to like you?"

"Kaa-san, I've told you - I burn it all off in training. Besides, I've come to see a couple of things. I'm a _ninja_ , that means I'm going to spend a lot of my time doing physically demanding things. Fighting. _Killing._ It's not like you told me, it's not going to be glamorous when I start taking C-ranks and higher. I'm not going to be able to stand at the back of the formation, look pretty, and wait for _Sasuke-kun_ to save me.

"As it is, I think Sasuke won't even care if he doesn't, so I'm going to make myself strong enough to take care of myself. That means I'm going to eat this, and I'm going to stop dieting all together. I'm going to work hard to become strong, not pretty, and I'm not going to either fall in love with Sasuke or listen to you bad mouth Naruto. I'm sorry, Kaa-san. I love you, but I'm trying to make sure I'm going to be able to survive, before I even think of relationships." Sakura finished. She'd had enough of her mother trying to control her and push her, and the girl wasn't going to stand for it any more.

Mebuki was shocked to silence, although she quickly recovered herself and went to try change her daughters mind. "Sakura-"

Sakura cut her off. "No, Kaa-san. I need to do this. My life no longer has room for diets and beauty. You wanted me to be a ninja, I now need you to respect that." Mebuki just nodded numbly - this was a side to her daughter she hadn't seen before and didn't know. However, the determination in her eyes was hard to miss, so the woman decided to simply drop the issue.

Criticisms and reviews appreciated. Thank.


	8. Disillusioned

**A/N: I do not own Naruto, or any of the recognisable material. None of this is for profit.**

The following week things ran a lot smoother in Team 7 then they ever had previously. In the mornings the trio of Genin worked out, Sakura often trying to keep up with Naruto, simply for companionship during the morning. Sasuke still maintained a 'lone wolf' attitude, but was more receptive when it came to his team mates ideas. It did help that while he understood Sakura better after living as her, she had also dropped her fangirl attitude.

Sakura mediated a little between the two boys - it wasn't so much preventing arguments as it was making sure they communicated. Sasuke would act high and mighty on occasion, ignoring what Naruto had to say no matter how beneficial the suggestion. Naruto, in response, would simply close off from him - secluding himself further into apathy. Sakura would drag him out of it by going with his plan if she agreed it was best - hashing out new ones with him when she could.

The pair would work around Sasuke and his stubbornness until either they finished the task or the Uchiha was forced to comply with what they were doing. These incidents became less common as the week wore on though. It wasn't perfect, and Sasuke still held himself in greater esteem then he deserved, but the team was slowly moving in the right direction.

Missions were completed faster and team drill resulted in a greater number of successes.

Individual training had also changed. Kakashi had been waiting until his Genin started working together before teaching them anything major combat wise. While he'd given Naruto and Sakura taijutsu styles, and had sparred with Sasuke on occasion, he hadn't taught them anything. The genjutsu he'd given Sakura was mostly to level the field - Naruto had his speed and fuinjutsu while Sasuke had tai and ninjutsu.

Thus, on Thursday he brought with him four small pieces of paper. Instead of having them train individually when he arrived at 1000, he handed each of them a single square.

"Do any of you three know what these are?" He asked them as he held up his own piece for inspection.

"No, sensei." Was the simultaneous response, each looking at him in curiosity. They knew him well enough by now, and this difference in schedule had the three curious.

"This is chakra paper, and it is highly sensitive to the nature of the chakra that gets put into it. By channelling chakra into the sheet, we can determine what nature you each possess, and thus what kind of jutsu you can perform with the most ease. For example." At this point, Kakashi channelled his own chakra into the paper between his fingers, and the four of them watched as it first crinkled up, then all but a single corner reacted - one burning, one crumbling and the last soaking.

"As you can see, my primary affinity is lightning, and I've trained my earth, water and fire affinities to be nearly as powerful. Wind is the only element I can't use, and the paper will cleanly split if you have that nature. Now, channel chakra into your own pieces." Kakashi instructed, watching as the Genin did so.

Sasuke's paper immediately crinkled as Kakashi's had before the end of it spontaneously lit itself on fire. Sakura's own piece burned for a few seconds in her hands, then seemed to crumble away. Naruto watched as his paper split down the middle, each half crumpling up soon after.

"Well, you three are interesting. Usually a Genin will only have one element, and gain a second after when their mid teens. So, Sasuke has lightning and fire, Sakura fire and earth, and Naruto has wind and lightning. I'll teach each of you to master your primary element, although it isn't something that you'll get down by the end of the week.

"I won't let you spend much of your time during team training focusing on it solely, so you'll need to practice it more yourself at home. To begin though, Naruto, take a leaf and try use your chakra to split it down the centre like the paper. Sakura, you need to try make a twig catch alight. Sasuke, take two senbon and try make a current jump from one to another." Kakashi quickly demonstrated both the fire and lightning exercises, but turned to Naruto with an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Naruto, I have no idea how it's done. Good luck, though." Kakashi then gave the boy an eye smile, wandering to a nearby tree before setting himself in the branches to enjoy his book - half an eye remaining on his students.

Despite that, none of them got anywhere with their exercise that day, and Kakashi called it quits on them come lunch time. They completed a mission, and instead of team drill Kakashi gave them a jutsu of appropriate element.

"Mastery over your element is a advantage when performing jutsu, but not strictly necessary. So, a jutsu each." After saying so, Kakashi made two clones, one Kakashi for each student. The man taught Naruto the basic **Futon: Diatoppa (great breakthrough)** , Sasuke received **Raiton:_idk_** , and Sakura learnt **Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu (great fireball jutsu)**. Each technique was only a D-rank, consisting primarily of generating their element with the tiniest bit of direction.

Sasuke was pleased - feeling like he was learning something for the first time since he graduated. He completely disregarded the many skills and lessons Kakashi had given them, dismissing them as they were not directly useful for combat.

The trio practiced for the three hours they'd usually spend doing team drills before Kakashi called them over to teach them more on strategy - setting up three shogi boards and playing each of them at the same time. While doing that, the Genin each also split their focus to their elemental manipulation. Naruto had been the first to pull out a leaf, trying to split it as he played. Sakura had seen and quickly followed suit, Sasuke being the last to start when he notice what the other two were doing.

On Friday, Kakashi decided the three Genin had improved their teamwork enough they may succeed in catching Tora. He'd previously held off from accepting the infamous mission, aware that his students would learn nothing from it. At this point though, he believed they would work together to catch the white cat.

They did, however, run into an issue Kakashi didn't foresee. The man had gotten so used to Naruto being mute he'd forgotten the limitations of it when it came to radio contact. Communication between the four members of Team 7 hadn't been an issue for weeks.

Morse code was really not meant to relay urgent messages, and the slowness of it caused the trio to miss the cat three times in total. Despite that, they did manage to catch the menace and give it to the Daimyo's wife in reasonable time, returning to the training ground to further practice their elemental techniques. Naruto, though, got to thinking.

He was displeased with being the one who affected the success of the mission, and he hadn't considered the use of short way radio's being an issue - it simply hadn't come up on any previous occasion. His first thought was for fuinjutsu, although he knew he'd have to talk to Kakashi and read through some more books before he had even an idea, let alone a design.

Still, the boy prepared to pose the idea to his Sensei after training, see if he had any suggestions or knew of any more materials Naruto could reference. The blond had found that there were no more books in either the academy of village library - even the shinobi section - on fuinjutsu. Even then, the last few books he'd read on the topic were either repeating what he already knew or covered things that seemed obvious.

Turned out, Naruto would have to wait to have that conversation as Kakashi called for the trio's attention before dismissing them.

"So, you three have had a week back in your own skin and your own homes, so now we're swapping again starting Monday. Same rules as we had last week, at the start of training on Monday you adopt each others persona and spend the next seven days living there lives. This time though, Sasuke, you're going to be transformed into Naruto, Naruto into Sakura and Sakura, you get to run around as Sasuke. Again, bring in your routines tomorrow, we'll discuss them after training, pack your things Sunday night and do the switch on Monday.

"Do you have any questions?" Kakashi first informed, then asked them, watching them carefully for their reactions. None of the three seemed overly surprised, realising that in order to be fair and best complete the exercise he'd have to do it this way. Sakura was the first one to speak up.

"Sensei, it wasn't so much of an issue last time because Sasuke doesn't speak much, but how will Naruto talk with Kaa-san?" Sakura asked, and this proved the extent of the change in her to her Sensei as well. The fact that she first thought of her team mates was a marked difference to her attitude when she was first assigned to the silver haired mans team.

"Would you be able to tell her on Sunday that starting Monday you may not speak for a week as a training exercise? Don't say anything after you wake up on Monday either to make it more convincing. Does Mebuki know Elemental Sign?" Kakashi suggested, also wondering if Naruto was going to have to write everything for his team mates mother.

"I don't think so…" Sakura trailed off unsure, it'd never been something that had come up in conversation so she couldn't say for sure, but it seemed unlikely to the girl.

"If you give me a sample of your writing - just the hiragana written out twice for variance, and any other prominent thing like names - I can practice forging your hand writing over the next couple of days. A part of fuinjutsu is perfect handwriting, so it won't be too hard to mimic yours." Naruto cut into the conversation, and Sakura relaxed slightly now the issue was taken care of.

"If there's no other questions at this moment, the three of you are dismissed." Kakashi said, also standing as two of his three students walked away.

"Yes, Naruto?" He queried, looking at his blond student in askance.

"Sensei, I was thinking about the communication issue we had today, and thought maybe I could design a seal to replace non-verbal contact for a faster alternative to morse code. Do you have any suggestions?" Naruto asked, looking to his sensei for guidance.

"What kind of seal were you thinking of using?" Kakashi responded, already thinking of all the different signals he knew of that could be applicable to the situation.

"Chakra relay. If I was to pulse chakra through mine, you would receive it on yours. I could iron out the layout and details however necessary, but that'd be the best I believe." Naruto told the man what he had come up with so far, waiting patiently for a response.

"When you design it, include a tracking feature in relation to each other - so you always know one another's position. I'll have a look into some code systems and get back to you but I do agree that'd be the most effective method. When I have a coding method could you do up a design to work with it, and we could test it over the next week? I know you are accustomed to staying up later then Sakura, so we can work out the kinks during that time." Kakashi thought out loud to his student, and Naruto promptly responded when finished.

"Hai, sensei. Do you have any more fuinjutsu books I could reference? I've read all the ones available to me." the blond asked, looking at the silver haired man.

"I'll get you one of your fathers - none of mine are more advanced then what you would've already completed. Technically they're yours anyway." Kakashi said.

"Arigato gozaimasu, Sensei." Naruto responded.

"No problem. Ja ne." As was the regular occurrence, Kakashi disappeared from training ground three with an eye smile and swirl of leaves. Naruto simply turned on his heel and darted down an alley, rapidly heading to his own apartment. He wanted to sort through his books and figure out what he'd need for Sasuke - as he'd done with Sakura. He intended to exchange them later that night.

While he still had a couple of days he wanted to save the most time for either his forging practice or seal work.

-1-

Saturday passed slowly for the team, although there were no notable occurrences the trio of Genin each made a small improvement in both their manipulation and jutsu - spending the time after missions practicing once again.

They switched and reviewed the schedules of each other as they had two weeks ago. As they already knew the kind of information needed each of Kakashi's students had included it and there were no subsequent questions. Sakura also gave Naruto a small scroll, which had the entire hiragana alphabet written on it with a couple of extra kanji Naruto was likely to need.

Sakura and Sasuke both left when Kakashi dismissed them, Naruto following soon after once his sensei had given him his fathers books. The man hadn't yet found a code system to make work, but Naruto was able to begin designing a seal until then.

Likewise, Sunday training progressed slowly, although Kakashi had them practice the jutsu he gave them after he arrived, returning them to team drills after the completion of the days mission. After they'd finished for the day, Kakashi had them gather around him once more.

"So, team, you already know the procedure for tomorrow. Arrive at 0700, switch gear and use the appropriate **henge**. Sakura, you'll need to tell your mother tonight that starting tomorrow you won't talk and instead use only Elemental Sign. You'll adopt each others persona's and live their lives for the week. Sasuke, you'll have to go with Naruto when you leave to get access to his apartment.

"Were you going to do the same as Sakura and stay in the open on Monday?" Kakashi asked, half hoping the boy would, half hoping he wouldn't. Doing so would definitely have the best outcome - the Uchiha needing such an experience to break him of his current mindset. At the same time, Kakashi didn't particularly like seeing Sakura go through such an event, disliked the thought of it happening to Naruto himself, and didn't want to see the last of his students be hurt in such a way.

Despite not wanting a team and being ordered to take this one, he had become fond of his students.

Sasuke's eyes cut to his blond team mate, watching as the other simply sat and calmly held his gaze. He didn't look away as he gave his answer. "Hai, Sensei. Can't be anything worse then what's happened before. I'm not so weak as to run away." The condescension Sasuke had in his voice was clear as he spoke of weakness. He'd improved - that did not mean he was better, nor thought himself equal with his team mates.

Kakashi heaved an internal sigh but dutifully moved on with what was essentially a briefing. "Then you will follow Naruto home when you leave. If there are no other concerns?" When he received only shakes of the head in response, the man smiled. "Then you are dismissed. Ja ne." A swirl of leaves later and there were only three Genin left in Training Ground Three.

"Ja ne, Naruto, Sasuke. I'll see you tomorrow." Sakura left with a wave, heading home for the night. She was almost thankful for the activity - her mother had been more overbearing in the last week, although the girl considered that she may have simply wanted more freedom then Mebuki was giving her. Either way, the reprieve would be good.

Naruto waved to the pinkette and Sasuke grunted as he followed along after the blond. Again, Naruto slipped into an alley at the edge of the training ground, signing behind him to Sasuke to keep out of sight. Sasuke grunted a second time in annoyance, but did as instructed.

The pair jogged across the village, and the Uchiha followed Naruto up the tree when they eventually reached it. The boy watched in curiosity as the blond pulled out a brush and ink, then proceeded to scrawl onto the windowsill. Once his things were packed away, Naruto pushed chakra into the seal, signing with his free hand for Sasuke to do the same.

The seal lit up a moment, then faded away to its previous state moments later. "Done." Naruto signed. "Just channel chakra into it to unlock it tomorrow."

Sasuke simply grunted - not being talkative when he wasn't ordering others around - before scaling back down the tree and leaving.

Naruto entered the apartment and proceeded to his room to go over the books he had and what needed to be packed. Repeating what he'd done for Sakura, Naruto removed a spare set of kunai, shuriken and senbon each, putting them in his cupboard. A weeks worth of outfits were sealed away, along with the books on fuinjutsu he'd need for his project.

He double checked his book choices before stacking them in the corner. He'd decided that Sasuke would best benefit from a book or two ninja ideology, as the blond considered the Uchiha to be too flashy for a ninja - too eager to fight head on. Besides that, there was again the book written by Maito Dai on taijutsu, one on chakra theory and another on strategy. He hoped Sasuke would read them and adapt a little more towards being a less head on fighter. The chakra theory book was to primarily help with ninjutsu - it explained how to remove hand seals as well.

That finished, Naruto resumed his usual night activities, visiting his brother and reading before going to Aki no Shokuji, eating his dinner then working out. After that the boy had a shower and went to sleep.

Monday arrived with little fanfare, the three Genin managing to arrive at Training Ground Three within moments of each other. There was no communication between them beyond greeting as they each undid their packs and replaced them with each other's.

Naruto strapped Sakura's thigh and back pouches where he kept his own, dropping the scroll of his things into the one on his leg. Sakura clipped Sasuke's gear to herself, and Sasuke attached Naruto's, after which all three of the Genin cast the appropriate **henge**. Following that, the three split to begin their physical training.

Kakashi arrived three hours later, and his student lined up in from of him as they'd been taught, awaiting their instruction.

"Today, we're going to go back to primarily physical work, rather then practicing the jutsu I gave you last week. Naruto, I'll work with you on refining you taijutsu some more, Sakura and Sasuke, I want both of you to run through some more physical exercises. In about an hour spar against each other, talk about where improvements can be made before sparring some more. I'll send clone observe and give you some more suggestions. Any questions?" When he received only negative responses he got started.

Three hours passed in that fashion, Kakashi improved Sasuke's taijutsu - beginning to help him adjust his clans Taijutsu style **Geigekiken (intercepting fist)** to work without the sharingan. Naruto and Sakura sparred and worked together to improve their own taijutsu - Naruto needed to take more opportunities to strike and Sakura needed to increase her speed.

They stopped at lunch and after eating the four made their way once again to the mission office. The reactions varied between the Genin at the amount of attention the village directed at them.

Naruto was the most passive, calming somewhat now that he wasn't being scrutinized by every person as he was normally or when under the guise of Sasuke. Sakura was sitting somewhere between awed and disgusted. She couldn't believe so much of the village looked at Sasuke as they were now looking at her, and was even more disgusted when she realised she used to be one of them.

Sasuke was torn between curling into himself and away from the looks, or sneering at them and demanding they respect their superior - an Uchiha. As he was under **henge** as Naruto, he repressed both urges and kept walking silently forward. The same Chunin on desk duty ignored Sasuke as he had ignored Sakura only two weeks ago.

The team was given another small D-rank mission - weed the back garden of a wealthy merchant - and made their way to the mans house.

Like most of the civilians of Konoha, the merchant knew nothing of sealing and was under the impression Naruto was a demon. The mans status in the village though had taught him to hold his tongue - especially around Jonin - and restrained himself to an impressively heated glare.

Sasuke held character of being emotionless as Naruto had always done, but that was mostly due to not knowing how to react. The Uchiha had very little experience with hate or even minor dislike, the worst coming from the owner of a weapons shop he went to once and that was only heavy disdain. Either way when the door was closed Sasuke mentally shook himself and followed after his team.

Reaching the back garden - and garden was an overstatement, it was almost completely weeds - Sakura considered what needed to be done, their supplies and how best to work together to finish the mission.

Since the girl was **henged** as Sasuke and the boy usually tried to take charge of missions she knew command was now hers. "See what supplies we have first Naruto, Sakura. Then we'll see how we're going to do this." Sakura spoke, voice modulated to be deeper and flatter to mimic Sasuke.

Five minutes later, the three had found two wheelbarrows, a shovel, two hand shovels and a garden fork. Considering their options Sakura quickly came up with an workable system. "We'll all just pull weeds, use whatever tool most appropriate. Take turns emptying the barrows if they get full, start in the right back corner." 'Naruto' and 'Sakura' both nodded along with the suggestion and barely a minute late the three Genin were at work.

A full two hours of concentrated effort later and the garden looked rather bare although significantly better due to the lack of weeds. Finished, Kakashi ceased reading his book to get the mission scroll sighed by the client after which the four filed the completed mission.

As per their usual routine Team 7 returned to Training Ground 3, where Kakashi had them run team drills for two hours then sat them down for lessons. Since all three had sufficient chakra control, Kakashi taught them how to channel it to their ears to increase hearing, blindfolding them and ringing bells to help them adjust and learn to judge direction.

It was a more practical lesson then he usual gave - the others consisting mostly of expanding on the theory they learnt in the academy - but he was confident that the team would finally be a proper team by the end of the week and was comfortable furthering their skills. They were willing to work hard for the skills he was giving them, so they deserved the training now. Everything had to be earned.

Training ended at 1900 and the team went their separate ways, although Kakashi handed 'Sakura' a small scroll right before he disappeared. Naruto shrugged and kept walking, taking a guess at what it likely was and not bothering to open it before he reached Sakura's house.

Entering Naruto knocked twice on the door as he closed it behind him, signalling to Mebuki that the temporary pinkette was home.

"Okaeri, Sakura." Mebuki responded, walking out of the kitchen with a knife still in hand. "I was just finishing up cutting the vegetables before I fry everything, would you like to give me a hand?"

Naruto nodded and moved to the kitchen to help. Sakura's routine had changed over the last week accompanying her change in attitude. Naruto didn't know exactly what was different - not having seen what she previously did - but he could see the influences he'd had on it.

She still work early - rather then going to bed late as he did - and spent the morning reading and continuing her chakra control exercises. The girl was practicing with the weight variation of the leaf exercise, and had achieved ten different objects being maintained. After training, Sakura would help Mebuki with dinner - the larger portion she wanted and the slightly different menu compared to her mother meant it took longer to prepare. The girl was fine with this, as it meant she could ensure she was getting as much food as she needed.

Rather then take a long bath and obsess so much over her appearance, Sakura had a short shower and then spent a couple more hours reading. She'd also taken to using this time to try converting her chakra to fire nature with little success.

Naruto fit himself into this role with an awkwardness he kept well hidden. During dinner, Mebuki provided conversation as she talked about her day with the different civilians of standing in the village. She pushed lightly on the topic of Sasuke - trying to convince 'Sakura' to get a date with the last Uchiha.

It was clear to Naruto that the woman would have gone on further, but he signed 'Kaa-san' and tried to look disappointed and frustrated. The blond was fairly sure the woman didn't know what he'd said, but had apparently gotten the look right enough for the issue to be dropped. There was a stilted silence after that as the two finished their meal.

Just as Naruto was standing to put the dishes in the sink with Mebuki following after, the woman sighed. "I wish you would at least stay away from the other team mate, Uzumaki. I've told you a hundred time's he's dangerous."

The temporary pinkette cast the woman a look, debating how to answer. He didn't particularly want to get into a fight with Sakura's mother, also being unsure what kind of arguments and responses would be appropriate.

In the end, the boy settle for simply shaking his head and focusing on the dishes, attempting to dismiss the conversation. Mebuki sighed again behind him, but didn't push the issue.

After that, Naruto went upstairs, had a quick shower then settled down to read. Sakura didn't have any books that he hadn't already read through - other then romance novels and other fiction - so the blond pulled out the scroll Kakashi had given him to go through. After half an hour, he pulled out his own blank scroll, scribbling out ideas and theories.

Kakashi had given him four different codes, three of them audio codes and one that were based on touch. The audio each had different sound sets, lengths and order of play determining what it meant. A fourth one similar everyone learnt was morse - one sound, two lengths, order determining signal. The additional three had five sounds two lengths, ten sounds two lengths, and another code of five sounds only with three lengths.

One of the touch based codes was simply a series of bump's - six laid out as two column's of three - that represented a different letter depending on which was raised. Besides the theory of it Naruto didn't think it would be helpful, as they'd have to spell everything out which would take too long.

In three hours Naruto had drawn a rough general seal that, similar to the touch code, consisted of four columns of three small relay cells. Applying chakra to them would relay that to the corresponding cell on the connected seals, which would be felt. Use of the seal would require good chakra control, but Naruto suspected Sasuke would work up to that level as it was.

The blond also compiled each of the systems together and threw together the start of a new one to work with the seal. He'd give Kakashi a copy of the notes and seal tomorrow for the man to look over.

Seeing it was nearly midnight, the blonde packed away his things and went so sleep.

Similarly, Sakura spent the afternoon as Sasuke, walking through the village to the Uchiha compound and trying not to be too obvious in her discomfort concerning the looks being directed at her. Arriving at the main house where Sasuke stayed, Sakura prepared herself dinner, ate and observed her surroundings. The main house was in the centre of the compound, and it was eerily silent compared to what the girl was used to.

No other people in the house, no people on the street outside, no other lights on around her. Sakura may have been having some issues with her mum, but she'd never felt quite this alone.

Finishing dinner quickly after that, the girl went to see what books Sasuke had. Usually he would go through his clan scrolls or walk at this time, so the she thought reading would be acceptable. There were no books that would be particularly helpful to her training, so she chose instead one on famous ninja of recent history to read through. While doing so, she pulled out a stick she'd picked up during training, splitting her attention to try burn it.

She didn't end up walking that night, instead simply having a quick shower and going to bed at the time Sasuke usually would.

For Sasuke, the first night transformed into Naruto would be a wake up call much like it had been for Sakura. The boy left training by a street to the left of the alley Naruto usually took, heading to the store he usually purchased his food from. He knew he wouldn't get a discount as he usually did - not appearing as an Uchiha - but the prices were still reasonable.

Entering the shop, Sasuke expertly navigated the aisles to buy what he usually would to last a week. He wasn't bothered by anyone - very few people shopping so late - and was soon placing down the items so the price could be totalled.

When the man looked at him as he was about to start he smiled, but Sasuke noticed it was just on the wrong side of vindictive. The boy didn't know what to expect from the usually respectful man, but he already knew he wasn't going to like it.

Sasuke was proved right, as he was told the cost of his weeks worth of shopping was 250 000ryo(250AUD). He knew it couldn't have come to more than 80 000ryo, and quickly signed '80' to the man in response.

"250 000 for you. Consider it compensation for what you did." The mans smile twisted on his face and became a sneer filled with loathing as his eyes openly displayed hate - the kind of hate Sasuke saw in the mirror when thinking of his brother. The Uchiha had no idea why he was being given that look, or what Naruto could have done that required _compensation_.

"Out than, if you're no going to pay!" The man yelled as he started to come out from behind the counter. Sasuke didn't wait around, turning on his heel and striding out - he kept a blank, impassive look on his face the during the entire interaction.

Once outside he tried the next store across, glancing at the woman behind the counter the Uchiha saw the look she gave him and immediately left. He wasn't a coward by any means, but he refused to deal with such unfounded hate. He couldn't think of any reason - at all - that the village would have such an attitude towards his blond teammate.

Sasuke tried three more stores, but when there was no variance in their treatment the boy simply opted to leave and follow Naruto's instructions - shop under a **henge** on Saturday. He could see the necessity of it, although he didn't understand why everyone made it so.

After that, Sasuke made his way to Naruto's apartment to read for an hour of two. Of the books Naruto had left, Sasuke selected the one on ninjutsu - that being the area he wanted to specialise.

When 2130 came, Sasuke got up from his position on the bed and headed towards Aki no Shokuji. Some people cursed him and jeered at him as he walked by, and Sasuke did his best to ignore it. He easily dodged the couple of bottles and stones tossed at him, the people throwing them being too drunk to aim.

He grabbed the bagged dinner that was left for Naruto, doing the same as Sakura had and eating as he walked. The temporary blond finished quickly, dumping the rubbish in another bin. He went back the same route he arrived, hoping to get the night over with.

It wasn't as bad as it could've been, but Sasuke was usually met with the adoration and respect of the village, or simple neutrality and occasionally pity. This was a completely different experience for the boy, and he found it difficult to cope with such unbridled hatred. Didn't know how to deal with it at all.

Unfortunately the night wasn't over, and people had only been getting more drunk while Sasuke ate.

A man stumbled out or the bar in front of Sasuke - it was a low quality place of cheap food and bad sake. He spotted 'Naruto' as he passed, cheeks reddening from more then just too much alcohol. The man roughly grabbed the boys arm, hand like a vice when Sasuke tried to pull away- to get free. The boy had no luck, and soon found himself shoved against a wall.

Kakashi - who had been watching all afternoon - found the situation eerily similar to what he had seen with Sakura. As he got ready to intercede when the situation inevitably became heated, he wondered if the village was always so ready to harm Naruto, or if his other two students were just unlucky.

The man shoved harder against Sasuke, manhandling the weaker boy into a tight hold, face pressed hard against the bricks.

"I'd been wondering if I'd ever see you alone, _boy_. Not hiding behind Hatake, running round the village as though you have the _right_ to be a ninja for Konoha. After what you did. You took my team from me. My sensei. My leg!" At the last exclamation he panged his leg against the wall, the sound making it obvious it was a prosthetic of some kind.

"Being a shinobi was my dream, and you TOOK IT FROM ME! Someone should've killed you long ago, removed the stain you are from our village." The man, obviously highly intoxicated, seemed almost fanatical as he talked. He pulled a tanto from where it'd been strapped, hidden beneath his shirt. He raised it in preparation to stab the boy he had pinned, and Sasuke struggled to get out of the hold with little luck.

"Good riddance, de-" Just as he began to move, he found himself in nearly an identical position to what he'd held Sasuke only moments before.

"I would suggest to you, _civilian-san,_ that you go home, get sober and read through a book on sealing. I do not take well to having any of my team mates, my _students_ threatened, and will not stand for it happening in our home. You are lucky you have retired, or the punishment for attempting to kill a village shinobi would be much more severe. As it is, I have half a mind to drag your ass to T &I." Kakashi said, voice deadly quiet and possessive as he held the mans tanto against his throat.

"I- I- I'll go home Hatake-san. I won't d-do it again H-Hatake-san." The man's voice quivered, trying to placate the angry Jonin and get out of the situation he'd put himself in.

"Good. Here, have your tanto back." Kakashi went from ice cold to pleasant so fast Sasuke thought he'd get whiplash from it. The mans eye smile was pleasant as he handed the blade to the drunk who had been only seconds away from stabbing Sasuke.

Once it was only the two of them left in the alley, Kakashi turned to Sasuke.

"Now, Sasuke, before you ask me any questions I'm going to say I can't tell you. Naruto and the Hokage are the only two permitted to, so I'll suggest you ask your team mate. For now, I'll take you back to the apartment." Sasuke nodded along mutely and automatically followed his sensei across the rooftops to the complex. Doing so as more out of habit and training - since Kakashi had spent so many hours trying to instill chain of command into his students.

When they were safely within the apartment, Kakashi followed Sasuke into the bedroom as the boy sat down on the bed, numb. The adrenaline had worn off, and Sasuke was left with the realisation that he'd almost died, that he couldn't do anything.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Kakashi asked, concerned.

"I… I almost died, Sensei…" Sasuke trailed off a little, picking back up moments later. "If you weren't there, I would have died. Were- were you following me?" Sasuke asked.

"I was, I followed you because I knew something like this was likely to happen. Naruto does what he does for a reason, Sasuke, and he knew what would happen when Sakura was determined to walk around as him in the open. You got unlucky that the guy was an ex-ninja, but that doesn't make this an isolated incident." Kakashi told the stunned boy. "I also followed you because you're a part of my Team - in Konoha that also makes you family. We live for, fight with and - many of us - have died for each other. You're a part of that, and I'm not going to let you get hurt if I can prevent it." When Sasuke didn't respond the Jonin sighed - there was nothing further he could do.

"Have a shower and go to bed, I'll see you in the morning." He received an absent nod in response, and when the door closed behind the boy Kakashi left.

For his part, Sasuke did as instructed, showering quickly and curling up into Naruto's bed. The Uchiha hadn't felt so week and vulnerable since the night Itachi left, murdering his clan on the way out. He hated the weakness, loathed it, and he had needed Kakashi to save him.

But… the man defended him, called him student, _Team._ After six weeks of being assigned to the man, Sasuke new what the word meant to Kakashi. Was that what he meant in all those lessons and drills? That sometimes you needed backup, needed support, and team mates were meant to be that?

Sasuke had a lot of people loving him, praising him and respecting him. None of it meant anything to though, they weren't his parents, weren't his _brother,_ so their opinions held no meaning. He hadn't realised he'd begun to seek Kakashi's approval, hadn't noticed he cared for his team mates, so caught up in his own determination to be alone. To not be hurt again.

But Kakashi had defended him, claimed him in a sense, and Sasuke felt warm just remembering it. That was someone who saw him as him, not the last Uchiha, and the boy had never even known there was a difference. It was- it almost felt to him like having a family again.

Sasuke considered that maybe he could work with them. Naruto and Sakura had proved to not be too bad, each had their strengths, and the boy was forced to acknowledge that they did achieve more when they worked together. He wondered if his clan would mind. If they would hate him if he had help avenging them, killing his brother?

Sasuke fell asleep wondering if he should give this team a try, let someone close again - after he found out why the village hated his team mate. He woke up to those same thoughts, although more centred on finding out about Naruto.

He got dressed and ready for the day quickly, trying not to admit to himself how anxious he was to learn his team mates secret. He scaled down the tree outside the window, and ducked through the alleys Naruto had listed to get to the training ground. He had learned his lesson last night, and was going to follow the instruction his team mate had given.

He arrived five minutes early in his haste, but didn't mind overly and began Naruto's morning conditioning.

Sakura had woken early that morning, surprised she had managed to sleep in past her usual time. Although, she accounted it to her constant use of **henge** , the extra sleep refilling her chakra pool a little more. Getting up, the girl walked through the silent house to the bathroom and had a quick shower.

That finished, the pinkette made herself breakfast, humming to fill the silence. She wasn't necessarily a social person, but noise was something she was accustomed to and Sakura found the room nearly oppressive without it.

After breakfast she made her way to the training ground, scowling and glaring as she'd seen Sasuke do when people tried to get to close.

She was thankful when she arrived, the looks and scrutiny making her uncomfortable. She quickly began her exercise regime, jogging up and alongside Sasuke when she spotted him.

From previous experience the girl knew her team mate would want answers and was determined to be there to support him when he got them. Sakura wasn't sure what kind of reaction he'd have, but would offer what she could to help him through the fall out.

Despite these thoughts, Sakura was still somewhat surprised by the somewhat thankful look the Uchiha sent her. Then, he began to sign - keeping in character - and she was even more surprised. The boy rarely ever spoke in more then grunts unless prompted or trying to get her and Naruto to do things his way.

"Did you get attacked too?" he asked, eyes curious, a little worried and a touch of something else Sakura couldn't identify.

"I did, Kakashi-sensei interrupted though. I'm assuming you did as well?" She asked back, mimicking Sasuke's voice near perfectly.

"Hai. Is it a good reason? I don't know how they can all hate him that much if it isn't." Despite signing the statement with confidence, there was an uncertainty in the boys eyes.

"Yes and no. It's… complicated, I suppose. I can see how they get to the justification they do, but it's wrong. Do you remember when Naruto said he left the orphanage before the academy?" When Sasuke nodded, the girl continued. "They hated him even then. Why else would he leave, if it was even willingly. There's nothing a boy younger then eight could have done to deserve such hatred from the entire population. They all think there is, but they're wrong."

When Sakura as finished, Sasuke merely nodded and continued with his workout as they waited for the third Genin of Team 7 to arrive. It wasn't an answer, but she wasn't allowed to give it anyway.

For his part Naruto was trying to navigate the morning around a second person he'd never had to before - his and Takumi's routine far too different to compare. He woke early and worked a bit more on the code he'd give to Kakashi, drawing up a working prototype of the seal that could be applied on the skin. The blond thought any kinks in the design would need to be worked out through trial and error - this would be trial one.

He did his best to keep out of Mebuki's way - with only a little success - as they made breakfast and lunch. He nodded at all the right times and did his best to look interested in the conversation, but beyond that really just wanted to go meet up with his team.

It was a painful morning for Naruto, but eventually he was able to leave, walking calmly through the village towards the ground.

As soon as he arrived Naruto began his stretches, preparing to begin his morning conditioning.

He didn't get to start though, as soon as Sasuke and Sakura saw Naruto they joggd over to the temporary brunette - Sasuke to get answers and Sakura just as support.

"Naruto, why do they blame you for to cause so much hate?" Sasuke signed. Naruto wasn't surprised, simply sighing silently as he prepared to tell the other boy.

"They blame me for all the death that occurred due to the Kyuubi no Kitsune's attack on the village twelve years ago. This is because I'm the jinchuuriki of the fox, as the only way to defeat a bijuu is to seal it into someone. I'm their scapegoat." Naruto signed dispassionately - as though the fact did not affect him. Which was true, Naruto cared very little about his status.

"Sealed in you?" Sasuke repeated, absorbing what he'd been told.

"Hai. The Yondaime sacrificed his life to perform the seal." Naruto elaborated slightly. Sasuke snapped out of his shock at learning that, turning angry in seconds - though not at Naruto.

"He tried to kill me last night! Thinking I was you! He would've killed you for what you contain? Wouldn't that just break the seal and free the Kyuubi?" Sasuke signed jerkily. Sakura gasped slightly in surprise - her own encounter was minor in comparison. Although, the girl also noticed that Naruto barely even blinked. She wasn't the only one, as seconds later Sasuke interrupted whatever answer may have been forthcoming.

"They've tried to kill you before, haven't they."

"Hai." Naruto signed back shortly. He contained the flinch, tried his hardest to stay focused on the pair in front of him rather then the phantom screams and brown eyes that pushed into his mind.

"What happened?" Sakura asked quietly. Naruto looked at her, then Sasuke, studying what he could of the faces they wore - debating if he should tell them.

"I won't tell you everything. Kakashi-sensei is the only one I've told, and even then it was only the basic details…" Naruto trailed off, studying their reactions. Both were a mix of curious, grim and determined, and Naruto resigned himself to sharing.

He didn't speak immediately, first reaching up and removing the hitai-ate from his neck. Both Sasuke and Sakura saw this, but as the blond still had the **henge** couldn't see what it now showed.

"I had just turned six, and had been living-… living in an apartment. I'd gone out to get food, been exceedingly careful to avoid the festival crowds. Entered through the window to take a bat to the back of the head. They- It's why I don't talk." Naruto interrupted himself before he could give out anything about his brother, and when he finished he dropped his transformation.

"The Kyuubi can heal a lot of things, but this he had to heal fast or I would've died. It's the only thing that's ever scarred." Naruto finished, and both his team mates stared at his throat in shock. Gingerly, Sakura reached forward to touch the scar tissue, but Naruto grabbed her hand and shook his head. The pinkette simply nodded before shaking herself mentally - snapping out of her shock.

For his part, Sasuke was coming to something of his own realisation. The boy realised that Naruto truly had nothing - he hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said as much almost three weeks ago. The Uchiha came to see just how much he'd been given, even after he lost everything he still had more then Naruto.

He decided he could work with these people, if they were willing to work with him.

"Naruto, Sakura… I- " He began nervously, breaking off when they were both looking at him. He didn't have the words for what he wanted to say, didn't know if he could admit to it even if he did know what to say.

"Team?" He simply signed instead, leaving it open to interpretation. Both Naruto and Sakura understood, however, the offer for what it was. Sasuke had been stubborn about working alone, being above them and better than them - refusing as much as he could with Kakashi to work as a team.

This was him breaking that, putting himself as an equal with them so they could grow together. There was only one response Naruto and Sakura felt appropriate, and a moment later they both signed to the Uchiha. "Team."

Emotional moment over, Naruto re-tied his hitai-ate around his neck, seconds later an illusion of Sasuke forming over him. That finished, the trio once again got to their morning exercise, jogging together around the field.

When Kakashi arrived, the Genin were hanging from the same branch and they did sit-ups, flipping off simultaneously before jogging over to meet him. The man assumed that something had changed in their dynamics, and was hopeful that they were finally pulling together.

"Okay, Team, today I'm going to have you doing the same as yesterday. Sasuke, Sakura, practice your kata then spar together. Naruto, we'll work through your own taijutsu some more. Understood?"

"Hai." The three signed in response, then split to their individual tasks. Ssasuke worked hard with Kakashi - he'd seen last night how he wasn't as strong as he thought while his sensei was a Jonin for a reason. They worked on his taijutsu, the silver haired man teaching him how to manipulate his opponent.

The Uchiha taijutsu style - the **Geigekiken (intercepting fist)** \- was based on the Sharingan's predictive ability. By knowing where your opponent was going to be an Uchiha could easily counter the move and retaliate. By manipulating his opponent, Sasuke could do the same thing - force them to be somewhere or move a particular way in which he could counter.

The boy found the method difficult but could ultimately see the benefits of the manipulation so worked hard to become capable at using it. It was mostly a mental activity - analysing the way your opponent moved and reacted and using it against them.

Naruto and Sakura similarly worked together to better themselves - Sakura instructing Naruto to hit more and working on her own ability to block his hits or hit him herself. The resistance seals Naruto had on slowing him down made them fairly evenly matched so they benefited equally from the session.

The team broke for lunch, collected and completed a mission before heading back to the training ground.

Kakashi was honestly impressed by the progress of his team in such a short time. He knew it'd be hard, and such drastic personality changes were going to take conscious effort but the three had taken the first step to bettering themselves. Working as a team and bettering each other. The mission they just completed went significantly better then all previous. Even with Sakura being unsure of herself in a commanding role, and Sasuke being too far into thought to have a significant contribution. There was a level of co-operation of willingness to listen-to and include each other that had previously been lacking.

Still though, Kakashi saw out the end of the week with no change in routine. He kept training 'Naruto' in Taijutsu, 'Sakura' and 'Sasuke' sparred and furthered their physical conditioning. All three made the executive decision to advance either their chakra control or elemental manipulation as they worked. He also spent some time each afternoon working with them on their first elemental jutsu.

By the time Monday rolled around, the trio had a far greater appreciation of each other, could see one another as equals rather then as a fangirl, a crush or a demon. There were no more illusions, no more misconceptions about either themselves their teammates.

 **Hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Timothydewayneperry and Scarease in particular - shout out to you two. And, kudo's to anyone who can tell where the title came from (it's not hard).**

 **Next chap is a couple of weeks off still, so until then.**

 **Ja ne, Raett**


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